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Commonwealth of Kentucky
Flag of Kentucky Seal Nickname(s): Bluegrass State Motto(s): United we stand, divided we fall
Official language(s)	English[1]
Capital	Frankfort
Largest city	Louisville
Area	Ranked 37th
- Total	40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)
- Width	140 miles (225 km)
- Length	379 miles (610 km)
- % water	1.7
- Latitude	36° 30′ N to 39° 09′ N
- Longitude	81° 58′ W to 89° 34′ W
Population	Ranked 26th
- Total	4,173,405
- Density	101.7/sq mi  39.28/km² (23rd)
Elevation
- Highest point	Black Mountain[2] 4,145 ft  (1,263 m)
- Mean	755 ft  (230 m)
- Lowest point	Mississippi River[2] 257 ft  (78 m)
Admission to Union	June 1, 1792 (15th)
Governor	Ernie Fletcher (R)
U.S. Senators	Mitch McConnell (R) Jim Bunning (R)
Congressional Delegation	List
Time zones
- eastern half	Eastern: UTC-5/DST-4
- western half	Central: UTC-6/DST-5
Abbreviations	KY US-KY
Web site	www.kentucky.gov

The Commonwealth of Kentucky (IPA: /kənˈtʌki/) is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern states (in particular the Upland South), but it is sometimes included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest.^[3][4] Kentucky is one of four U.S. states to be officially known as a commonwealth. Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 it became the 15^th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37^th largest state in terms of land area, and ranks 26^th in population.

Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass is present in many of the lawns and pastures throughout the state. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, the greatest length of navigable waterways and streams in the Lower 48 states, and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. It is also home to the highest per capita number of deer and turkey in the United States, and the nation's most productive coalfield. Kentucky is also known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing (including the best selling car, truck, and SUV in the U.S. market), tobacco, and college basketball.

Origin of name

Narrow country roads bounded by stone and wood plank fences are a fixture in the Kentucky Bluegrass.

The origin of Kentucky's name (variously spelled Cane-tuck-ee, Cantucky, Kain-tuck-ee, and Kentuckee before its modern spelling was accepted)^[5] has never been definitively identified, though some theories have been debunked. For example, Kentucky's name does not come from the combination of "cane" and "turkey"; and though it is the most popular belief, it is unlikely to mean "dark and bloody ground" because it isn't found in any known Indian language.^[6] The most likely etymology is that it comes from an Iroquoian word for "meadow" or "prairie"^[7][8] (c.f. Mohawk kenhtà:ke, Seneca këhta’keh).^[9] Other possibilities also exist: the suggestion of early Kentucky pioneer George Rogers Clark that the name means "the river of blood",^[5] a Wyandot name meaning "land of tomorrow", a Shawnee term possibly referring to the head of a river,^[10] or an Algonquian word for a river bottom.^[6]

Geography

See also: List of Kentucky counties

Kentucky

Kentucky's regions (click on image for color coding information.)

Kentucky borders states of both the Midwest and the Southeast. West Virginia lies to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Tennessee to the south, Missouri to the west, Illinois and Indiana to the northwest, and Ohio to the north and northeast. Most of but not all of Kentucky's northern border is formed by the Ohio River, its western border by the Mississippi River. At Henderson, U.S. 41 crosses the Ohio River and you are still in Kentucky for about a half of a mile. Waterworks Rd is part of the only land border between Indiana and Kentucky. [5]

Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a non-contiguous part exist as an exclave surrounded by other states. Fulton County, in the far west corner of the state, includes a small part of land, Kentucky Bend, on the Mississippi River bordered by Missouri and accessible via Tennessee, created by the New Madrid Earthquake.^[11]

Kentucky can be divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Plateau in the east, the north-central Bluegrass region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, the Western Coal Fields and the far-west Jackson Purchase. The Bluegrass region is commonly divided into two regions, the Inner Bluegrass — the encircling 90 miles (145 km) around Lexington — and the Outer Bluegrass, the region that contains most of the Northern portion of the state, above the Knobs. Much of the outer Bluegrass is in the Eden Shale Hills area, made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills.

Kentucky has 120 counties, third in the U.S. behind Texas' 254 and Georgia's 159.^[12] The original motivation for having so many counties was to ensure that residents in the days of poor roads and horseback travel could make a round trip from their home to the county seat and back in a single day.^[13] Later, however, politics began to play a part, with citizens who disagreed with the present county government simply petitioning the state to create a new county. The 1891 Kentucky Constitution placed stricter limits on county creation, stipulating that a new county:

• must have a land area of at least 400 square miles (1,000 km²);
• must have a population of at least 12,000 people;
• must not by its creation reduce the land area of an existing county to less than 400 square miles (1,000 km²);
• must not by its creation reduce the population of an existing county to less than 12,000 people;
• must not create a county boundary line that passes within 10 miles (20 km) of an existing county seat.

These regulations have reined in the proliferation of counties in Kentucky. Since the 1891 Constitution, only McCreary County has been created.^[14] Because today's largest county by area, Pike County, is 788 square miles (2,041 km²), it is now impossible to create a new county from a single existing county under the current constitution. Any county created in this manner will by necessity either be smaller than 400 square miles (1,000 km²) or reduce the land area of the old county to less than 400 square miles (1,000 km²). It is still theoretically possible to form a new county from portions of more than one existing county (McCreary County was created from portions of three counties), but the area and boundary restrictions would make this extremely difficult.

Climate

Located within the southeastern interior portion of North America, Kentucky has a climate described as humid subtropical (indicating that all monthly average temperatures are above freezing). Monthly average temperatures in Kentucky range from a summer daytime high of 87°F (30.9 °C) to a winter low of 23°F (-4.9 °C). The average precipitation is 46 inches (116.84 cm) a year.^[15] Kentucky experiences all four seasons, usually with striking variations in the severity of summer and winter from year to year. In fact, it is not unusual to see marked changes in temperature and weather conditions within the same day, leading many locals to observe, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few hours and it will change."^[16]

Major weather events that have affected Kentucky include:

• The Mid-Mississippi Valley Tornado Outbreak of March 1890
• The Ohio River flood of 1937
• The Super Outbreak of tornadoes in 1974
• Massive flooding in 1997
• The North American blizzard of 2003 (mostly ice in Kentucky)

Lakes and rivers

Lake Cumberland is the largest artificial lake, in terms of volume, east of the Mississippi River.

Kentucky’s 90,000 miles (140,000 km) of streams provides one of the most expansive and complex stream systems in the nation. Kentucky has both the largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi in water volume (Lake Cumberland) and surface area (Kentucky Lake). It is the only U.S. state to be bordered on three sides by rivers — the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Big Sandy River and Tug Fork to the east.^[17] Its major internal rivers include the Kentucky River, Tennessee River, Cumberland River, Green River, and Licking River.

Though it has only three major natural lakes,^[18] the state is home to many artificial lakes. Kentucky also has more navigable miles of water than any other state in the union, other than Alaska.^[19]

Natural environment and conservation

Kentucky has an expansive park system which includes one national park, two National Recreation areas, two National Historic Parks, two national forests, 45 state parks, 37,696 acres (153 km²) of state forest, and 82 Wildlife Management Areas.

Kentucky has been part of two of the most successful wildlife reintroduction projects in United States history. In the winter of 1997, the state's eastern counties began to re-stock elk, which had been extinct from the area for over 150 years. As of 2006, the state's herd was estimated at 5,700 animals, the largest herd east of the Mississippi River.^[20]

The state also stocked wild turkeys in the 1950s. Once extinct in the state, today Kentucky has more turkeys per capita than any other eastern state.

Top tourist attractions in Kentucky

Significant natural attractions

• Cumberland Gap, chief passageway through the Appalachian Mountains in early American history.
• Cumberland Falls State Park, one of the few places in the Western Hemisphere where a "moon-bow" may be regularly seen.