Kentucky Regions (areas that have similar landforms)
Transcript
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Kentucky Regions (areas that have similar landforms)
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Bluegrass Region
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Geography In the Bluegrass Region they think the grass is blue.
But, it is not actually blue. Bluegrass is just a type of a grass
that was planted here many years ago. The two largest cities in
Kentucky, Louisville and Lexington, are in this region. Horses are
very important in the Bluegrass. People from all over the world go
to Churchill Downs in Louisville and Keeneland in Lexington to
watch horse races. This region has some of the finest farmland in
the state. Tobacco is the major crop. The Bluegrass region covers
an area of 8,000 square miles. The Bluegrass is the 3rd largest
region. The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort. Frankfort is located
in the Bluegrass region.
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The Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby in Louisville is the most
celebrated horse race in America. The entire city begins
celebrating with decorations and parties two weeks before the race
takes place. The Kentucky Derby is also called The Run for the
Roses? Do you know why? Because race officials decorate the winning
horse with roses.
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Economy Large producer of tobacco. Many farmers depend on
tobacco to make money. Farmers grow crops like corn, cabbage, and
tobacco. The Bluegrass has many natural resources such as soil and
minerals.
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The Eastern Mountains and Coalfields Region
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Geography Partly bordered by the Ohio, Big Sandy, and Tug Fork
Rivers. The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the mountains used by
hunters, explorers, settlers, and animals The terrain is very
rugged The landforms create major transportation problems Today,
there are not as many trees as there used to be, but there are
still many sawmills. Logging is important in this region. The
coalfields were not opened until late 1900's, but since then
workers have mined millions of tons of coal from this region There
are more mountains in this region than in any other part of the
state. The Kentucky River run's through the Eastern boundary
mountains. This region has the highest elevation in Kentucky which
is the Big Black Mountain in Harlan County. It stands over 4,000
feet high.
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Cumberland Falls The Cumberland river run's through this
region, and also forms the highest waterfall in Kentucky also known
as the Cumberland Falls. One of the most amazing things about
Cumberland Falls is the moonbow. A moonbow is a special rainbow
that appears only at night. It is created when the mist above the
falls reflects the moonlight. It only happens when the weather is
clear, and the moon is at a certain place in the sky.
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History (Coal) Millions of years ago, the land was a swamp with
large plants. When the plants died, they were slowly covered by
layers of sand and mud Pressure and heat from the layers turned the
plants into coal. Miners dug the coal from its bed. Then they
covered the mines with soil and planted seeds so new plants would
grow. We use some of the coal right here, but much of it is moved
by train, truck, or ship to places around the world. Much of the
coal is used to make electricity. The coal is cleaned before it is
burned, so it wont pollute the air as much Coal will continue to be
an important source of energy in the future. Coal is one of
Kentuckys most valuable resources. In fact, only one state produces
more coal than our state does. Do you know which state that is? Its
Wyoming.
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Economy Eastern Kentucky features resorts at Natural bridge,
Carter Caves, Green Bo Lake, Buckhorn Lake, Cumberland Falls, and
Pine Mountains. Mining Limestone
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The Knobs
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Geography The knobs is the smallest of all 6 natural regions
(Bluegrass, Pennyroyal, Jackson Purchase, Western and Eastern
Coalfields.) it also borders the bluegrass in an unusual horse shoe
shape. Also the knobs region contains 2,300 square miles of
area.
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History To the west of the Eastern Mountains and Coal Fields is
the Knobs. The Knobs is the smallest of Kentuckys landform regions.
Geographers, people who study the land and its formations, often
describe the Knobs as horseshoe shaped. The Knobs region wraps
around three sides of the Bluegrass region. The Knobs has rocky
hills that are not high enough to be called mountains. In the
valleys, the land is rich and good for farming. None of Kentuckys
120 counties is totally in this region Knobs- a rounded hill or
mountain
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The Western Coalfield Region
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Geography The Western Coal Fields are 4,600 square feet and
contain 21 different counties. The region is surrounded by the Ohio
River on the north and the Pennyroyal region on the east, south,
and west. There is good farmland near the Ohio River. Two-third's
of all the coal in the state is found in the Western Coal
Fields.
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History Like the Eastern Coal Field, this region is named for
the huge amounts of coal that lie under the ground. The Western
Coal Field is much flatter than the Eastern Coal Field. The flat
land make this area good for farming. This region also has the
electric-generating plant at Paradise. It is a place where coal is
turned into power. Almost all of the electric power used in
Kentucky comes from electric-generating plants like this one.
Owensboro is one of the largest cities in this region, which is a
port city. What is a port? A Port is a place on a shore where boats
pick up or drop off goods. Henderson is also a port city. Many of
the things we buy probably came to Kentucky on a boat.
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Strip Mining People have different ideas about how to use land.
In Kentucky, people have argued for years about coal mining. With
large earth-moving machines, workers remove whole mountaintops to
get to the coal faster. This is called strip mining, or mountaintop
removal. After an area is stripped, the government often helps the
coal companies reclaim or restore, the land. For every ton of coal
taken from the ground, the coal companies pay a reclamation fee.
Sometimes, the government uses money from the fees to build homes
or businesses on the stripped land. But in areas that have not been
reclaimed, the land looks barren and empty.
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What do you think? Many people are not satisfied with our
states efforts to repair the damage from strip mining. These people
say strip mining hurts Earth forever. They say we are losing our
natural resources. Some experts say that when rain hits the
stripped land, chemicals mix with the rainwater. They say these
chemicals end up in our drinking water and can make us sick. How do
you feel about strip mining? Should coal companies be allowed to
continue strip mining the mountains of Kentucky?
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Jackson Purchase
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History Did you know that a long, long time ago Jackson
Purchase was not a part of Kentucky? Andrew Jackson purchased a
piece of land and put it on Kentucky 26 years after Kentucky became
a state. The first governor Isaac Shelby signed the treaty to make
that land a part of Kentucky. They named it Jackson Purchase
because Andrew Jackson purchased that part of land.
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Geography Jackson Purchase is located in the southwest part of
Kentucky. Jackson Purchase became known as the," Gateway to the
west." It has a big bridge that connects the Purchase to the rest
of Kentucky. Before the bridge was built, it was hard to travel
between this region and the rest of Kentucky. For a long time,
people in the Jackson Purchase felt separated from other
Kentuckians.
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Geography Much of this region is low and swampy because it is
bordered by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. It is also some of the
flattest land in Kentucky. The lowest point is Fulton County. But,
this flat, rich, river bottom land is perfect for growing crops
especially cotton. The Jackson Purchase is the only region in
Kentucky where cotton grows. The clothes you are wearing may be
made from cotton grown in the Jackson Purchase.
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Continued Paducah is the largest city in this region. It has
lots of buildings, factories, and railroad yards. Most of the
people in the Jackson Purchase work in farming. But, in Paducah,
people have all sorts of jobs.
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Pennyroyal Region
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Geography Pennyroyal is the name of a plant in the mint family.
The region is named for the plant because pioneer settlers found it
growing everywhere. They used pennyroyal to keep mosquitoes and
ticks away.
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The Pennyroyal has more lakes than any region in Kentucky
including Barkley Lake and Kentucky Lake. The land between the
lakes is called: you guessed it the Land Between the Lakes. The
Pennyroyal is the largest land region of the state. It touches all
of Kentuckys other land regions. Farmers in this region grow
tobacco, apples, and soybeans. They also raise dairy and beef
cattle. Jessie James robed his first bank in Pennyroyal in
1868.Pennyroyal was the birth place of the first confederacy
president. It was also the birth place of the 16 president Abe
Lincoln.
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Economy Pennyroyal has a very agricultural economy. Fort Knox
is located in Pennyroyal. One of the only Corvette Factories in the
world is located in Pennyroyal. It is the best region for verified
farming. But it also has one other famous attraction
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Mammoth Cave Mammoth Cave is the worlds longest known cave
system. In the cave systems 200 smaller caves, explorers have
mapped 360 miles of passages! Mammoth cave was formed over millions
of years as moving water slowly dissolved this layers of rock. Even
today, underground water is forming new caves. Mammoth Cave is home
to more than 130 types of creatures. One kind of fish has no eyes.
That is because deep inside the cave there is no light. Without
light, most living things cannot see. Fish that cannot see do not
need eyes. They have adapted to their lightless environment. The
land above the caves is full of holes, too. These are called
sinkholes. Rainwater makes its way into these sinkholes, dissolves
the limestone, and creates dips in the ground. Sometimes, the dips
fill with water. There are many ponds around Mammoth Cave
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County Another kind of region in our state is a county. A
county is a region that has at least one town. Every person in
Kentucky lives in one of our states 120 counties. Each county has
its own county seat. The county seat is the town or city where the
county government has offices. Which county do you live in?