Abbreviated as KY by ABBREVIATIONFINDER, Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the United States located on the border between the Midwest and the southern United States. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states established as a Commonwealth. The other three are Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Originally part of Virginia, in 1792 Kentucky became the 15th state to join the union. Kentucky is the 37th largest and the 26th most populous of the 50 states in the United States.

Kentucky is known as the “Bluegrass State”, a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass ( bluegrass ) found in many of the state’s pastures, because of the fertile soil. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world’s longest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park ; the longest navigable waterways and watercourses in the continental United States ; and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. The state also houses the most white-tailed deer and turkeys per capita in the United States, the largest free- ranging wapiti herd east of Montana, and the country’s most productive coal field. Kentucky is also known for horse racing, bourbon distilleries, automobile manufacturing, tobacco and college basketball.

Geographic location

Kentucky is located in the central southeast of the country, between 38 ° N and 84 ° W, it is completely surrounded by other American states:

Limits

• North: with Indiana and Ohio
• Northeast: with West Virginia
• East: with Virginia
• To the south: with Tennessee
• Northwest: with Illinois
• To the west: with Missouri.

Its forests cover about 30% of the state, Kentucky can be divided into five geographic regions:

• The Jackson Purchase: region of the Jackson Purchase, is located in the western end of Kentucky. This region is characterized by the presence of great plains, and by having the lowest areas of the state, with about 78 meters.
• The Pennyroyal Plateau: It is located throughout the south-central part of the state. It is characterized by its uneven terrain and fertile soil, as well as by the presence of rocky mountain ranges to the north of the region.
• The Western Coal Fields: Western Coal Fields, in the central-northwest region of the state. It has a rugged terrain, a fertile soil, characterized mainly by its large coal reserves, where about 70% of the state’s mineral coal is produced.
• The Cumberland Plateau: Appalachian Highlands these completely occupy eastern Kentucky. They are characterized by rugged terrain, with plateaus, mountain ranges, valleys, rivers and lakes. It has the highest levels of the state, where the “Black Mountain” is located, with about 1,263 meters of altitude, being the highest point in the state.
• The Bluegrass: It is the region to the North of Kentucky, it has a little rugged terrain and its pastures. Most of the cattle and equine herds are raised in this region.

History

Previously, it was believed that its name took origin from the Amerindian word, which means “dark and bloody hunting ground”, due to the rivalry and frequent fights between the native tribes that lived in the region, these tribes were mainly Cherokee, Delaware and the Shawnee, as well as the Iroquois. The latter constantly attacked other indigenous settlements. At present it is attributed that the word Kentucky derives from the great variety of indigenous languages, from which different possible meanings arise. For example they are “land of tomorrow”, “land of cane and turkeys” and “prairie”. The region where Kentucky now stands was originally settled by settlers from the British colony of Pennsylvania in 1774, but it happened to be controlled by Virginia during War of Independence of 1776, and it became the fifteenth American state in comprise of the Union, the 1 of June of 1792.

• CountryAAH: Offers a full list of cities and towns in Kentucky, together with postal codes for each of them, and including capital city of Kentucky.

Economy

In 2003, the GDP of Kentucky was 129 billion dollars. The state’s most important minerals include coal, natural gas and oil. The state’s industry is concentrated along the Ohio River. The most developed are the food, textile and tobacco industries, as well as mechanical engineering, rolling of ferrous metals, the production of metal products, vehicles, electronics, furniture, footwear, alcoholic beverages, and there are chemical industry enterprises.

In agriculture, the leading role is played by crop production – the production of tobacco (Kentucky is the second largest tobacco producer in the country after Virginia ), forage grasses, soybeans, and corn. The state’s livestock specialization is horse breeding ; Kentucky ranks first in the United States for breeding racehorses. The state also ranks sixth in the country for breeding cattle.

Kentucky is considered the birthplace and main production area of bourbon – American corn whiskey. Kentucky is home to all of the largest and most famous bourbon distilleries.