Daniel F. Onley, age 13, of Owensboro, Ky., for his question.
What are the natural regions of Kentucky?
Where do you live? Do you really live there or are you dreaming of some place else? In other words, are you properly state‑proud, in partnership with the land in which you live? This partnership begins with a knowledge of your home land, its natural regions, its natural resources. Andy's gift encyclopedia makes much of the natural regions of each state, There are detailed maps which show what the earth has to offer the people who live on its surface.
The map of Kentucky resembles a flat‑based cumulus cloud. Its bulky he ad bulges to the east and it slopes down to the west in a tapering tail. The land, too, slopes down from the Appalachians in the east to the banks of the Mississippi in the west. The natural regions of this rich and well run state are three ‑ the highland Appalachian Plateau in the east, the Interior Low Plateau in the center and the low‑lying Coastal Plain in the west.
Let's take our field glasses to the top of Big Black Mountain near the southeast border. They are at the highest point in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, _3,500 feet above sea level. The average elevation of the Cumberland Mountains around us is almost 3,000 feet. Swift streams run down these forested slopes. They bring riches to the central farmland on their way to join. the Ohio which weaves its way along the northern border.
These steep slopes yield some 100 million board fact of lumber each year, and the forests are carefully replanted. Saw mills horn in these green mountains and the central region yields oil and natural gas, from the southeast border is Kentucky's Eastern Coca Field. This, with the Western Coil Fields around Henderson, makes Kentucky the third lamest coal producer in the nation.
The Appalachian Plateau covers a fourth of Kentucky. It slopes down to the rolling hills and meadows of the Interior Plateau. This rich soil is protected by a well‑run conservation plan. Here grow corn, fodder, potatoes and Kentucky’s chief crop, tobacco. Here are grazing cattle and dairy farms. To the north is the famous bluegrass country, nestled in a crescent of gentle hills called the Knobs. This is where Kentucky's high strum Thoroughbreds stretch their logs.
The average height of this rolling green region is 1,000 feet above sea level. In its heart, nature carved herself a vast underground city. This is Mammoth Caves, of which 50,696 acres is set aside as a National Park. The Interior Plateau ends where the Tennessee river cuts off the tail of the cloud.
The small Coastal Plain region dips to the Mississippi, 257 fact above sea level. Here is Kentucky Dame biggest bridle of the whole TVA system. Its power runs nearby factories which make shoes and clothing. And, if you want to work in physics, you will find here an atomic plant.
Kentucky’s swift rivers are well controlled and harnessed with dams, Most of the industrial. centers thrive along the Ohio river. They produce cigarettes, chemicals, clocks, iron and steel, electrical equipment, clothes and furniture. There is brick making and oil refining. Together, the busy beehives of Kentucky produce over a billion dollars worth of goods each year. So, no matter what you plan to do when you grow up, just name it. Kentucky offers the means for you to do it.