| Kentucky, warmly referred to as The Bluegrass State, borders states of both the Midwest and the Southeast. West Virginia and Virginia lie to the east; Tennessee to the south; Missouri to the west; and Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north. The Commonwealth's northern most border is formed by the Ohio River, and the western border is formed by the expansive Mississippi River. Other major rivers in Kentucky are the Kentucky River, Tennessee River, the Cumberland River, the Green River, and lastly, the Licking River. Kentucky is divided into five primary regions: the Cumberland Mountains and Cumberland Plateau in the southeast, the north-central Bluegrass region, the south-central and western Pennyroyal Plateau, also termed "Pennyrile" with cities such as Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, the western coal-fields area, and the far-west Jackson Purchase. Rural Bluegrass Kentucky is the only U.S. state to have a non-contiguous part exist as an enclave of another state. Far western Kentucky 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. The Bluegrass region is usually divided into two (2) regions, the Inner Bluegrass that encircles 90 miles (145 km) around Lexington. Secondly, 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. This area is made up of short, steep, and very narrow hills. |
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