Kentucky

KENTUCKY, popularly known as the "Blue Grass State" because of the abundance of luxuriant blue grass found in the central part, but officially styled the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a south central State of the United States of America. It is situated immediately west of the Allegheny mountains, between 36° 3o' and 39° 6' N. and 82° and 89° 38' W. The State is bounded north-west and north-east by the Ohio river, which sep arates it from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio ; east by the Big Sandy river and its east fork, the Tug, which separate Kentucky from West Virginia, and by Virginia ; south-east and south by Virginia and Tennessee ; and west by the Mississippi river, which sep arates it from Missouri. It has an area of 40.598 sq.m. ; of this, 417 sq.m., including the entire breadth of the Ohio river, over which the State has jurisdiction, are water surface.

Physical Features.

From mountain heights along its eastern border the surface of Kentucky is principally a much furrowed plain, sloping very gently to the west and declining toward the Ohio river. The whole of the State lies within the Mississippi basin, and within the special division of the Ohio valley. A small area in the south-east lies within the disturbed region of the Alle ghenies, in which parallel ridges of folded structure form the Cumberland and the Pine mountains, which have crests from 2,000 to 3,000ft. high. The highest point in the State is Big Black mountain in Harlan county, with an elevation of 4,100 feet. The lowest point is on the Mississippi river in Fulton county, with an elevation of 257 feet. The approximate average elevation for the State is 75o feet. The entire eastern quarter of the State, conter minous with the Eastern Kentucky coal-field, is commonly known as the region of the "mountains," but, with the exception of the narrow area just described, it properly belongs to the Allegheny plateau province. This plateau belt is exceedingly rugged, with sharp ridges alternating with narrow valleys which have steep sides, but are seldom more than 1,50oft. above the sea. The remainder of that part of the State which lies east of the Tennessee river is divided into the Highland Rim plateau and a lowland basin, eroded in the Highland Rim plateau and known as the Blue Grass region ; this region is separated from the Highland Rim plateau by a semicircular escarpment extending from Ports mouth, 0., at the mouth of the Scioto river, to the mouth of the Salt river below Louisville; it is the southern part of the Cin cinnati Arch. The Highland Rim plateau, lying to the south, east and west of the escarpment, embraces fully one-half of the State, slopes from elevations of i,000 to 1,2ooft. or more in the east to

about 5ooft. in the north-west, and is generally much less rugged than the Allegheny plateau ; a peculiar feature of the southern portion of it is the numerous circular depressions, "sink holes," in the surface and the cavernous region beneath. Kentucky is noted for its caves, the best known of which are Mammoth cave and Colossal cavern. The caves are cut in the beds of limestone (lying immediately below the coal-bearing series) by streams that pass beneath the surface in the "sink holes." Down the steep slopes the escarpment of the Highland Rim plateau drops 2ooft. or more to the famous Blue Grass region, in which erosion has de veloped on limestone a gracefully undulating surface. This Blue Grass region is like a beautiful park, without ragged cliffs, pre cipitous slopes, or flat marshy bottoms, but marked by rounded hills and dales. Especially within a radius of 20M. around Lex ington, the country is clothed with an unusually luxuriant vegeta tion. During spring, autumn and winter in particular, the blue grass (Poa compressa and Poa pratensis) spreads a mat, green, thick, fine and soft, over much of the country, and it is a good winter pasture; about the middle of June it blooms, and, owing to the hue of its seed vessels, gives the landscape a bluish hue. Another lowland area embraces that small part of the State in the extreme south-west which lies west of the Tennessee river; this belongs to that part of the Coastal Plain region which ex tends north along the Mississippi river; it has in Kentucky an av erage elevation of less than 500 feet. Most of the larger rivers of the State have their sources among the mountains or on the Allegheny plateau, and flow more or less circuitously in a general north-western direction into the Ohio. Although deep river chan nels are common, falls or impassable rapids are rare west of the Allegheny plateau. The Licking, Kentucky, Salt, Green and Trade water are the chief rivers wholly within the State. The Cumber land, after flowing through the south-east and south-central parts of the State, passes into Tennessee at a point nearly south of Louisville. In the extreme south-west the Cumberland and the Tennessee, with only a short distance between them, cross Ken tucky and enter the Ohio river at Smithland and Paducah, respec tively. The drainage of the region under which the caverns lie is mostly underground. Some traces of the last glacial period are visible in Boone county.