The
Bluegrass Region is a region in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, mostly in northern
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is a Southern state situated in the Upland South, although the state is infrequently placed, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a...
, containing a majority of the state's population. The region is centered on , and includes and , as it extends into southwestern
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
and southeastern
IndianaIndiana is a U.S. state, the 19
th admitted to the Union. It is located in the Great Lakes region, and with approximately 6.3 million residents, is ranked 16
th in population and 17
th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38
th in land area, and is the...
. The Inner Bluegrass Region (shown in light green on the accompanying map) includes the counties of
FranklinFranklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1795 from parts of Woodford, Mercer and Shelby counties. As of 2007, its population was 48,183. Its county seat is Frankfort, the state capital...
,
ScottScott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2008, the population was estimated at 44,549. Its county seat is Georgetown.Scott County is part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :...
,
HarrisonHarrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1794. As of 2000, the population was 17,983. Its county seat is Cynthiana. The county is named for Colonel Benjamin Harrison, an advocate for Kentucky statehood, framer of the Kentucky Constitution, and Kentucky...
,
WoodfordWoodford County is a county located in the heart of the Bluegrass region of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 23,208. Its county seat is Versailles. The county is named for General William Woodford, who was with General George Washington at Valley Forge...
,
FayetteFayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2008, the estimated population was 282,114. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....
,
BourbonBourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed as a county within Virginia in 1786. In 1792, it transferred to the newly formed State of Kentucky. As of 2007, the population was 19,839. Its county seat is Paris, Kentucky...
, and
JessamineJessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, which was the center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. It was formed in 1799. As of 2000, the population was 39,041. The 2008 population estimate was...
.
The region gets its name from
bluegrassPOA may refer to:* Public Order Act 1936 , UK law concerning public disorder and violence* Public Order Act 1963 , an amendment to the earlier 1936 Act.* Public Order Act 1986 , UK law concerning public disorder andviolence...
, the common name for grass of the genus
Poa, which is a favored lawn and pasture grass in the eastern United States from
TennesseeTennessee is a state located in the Southeastern United States. According to the 2008 census, it has a population of 6,214,888, an increase of nearly 9.5% since 2000. Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the US and is ranked 17th by population. It is ranked 36th by total land area. In...
northward.
The Bluegrass region is characterized by underlying fossiliferous
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...
,
dolostoneDolomite is the name of a sedimentary carbonate rock and a mineral, both composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg
2 found in crystals....
, and
shaleShale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable...
of the
OrdovicianThe Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian period and is followed by the Silurian period...
geologicalGeology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed...
age. Hills are generally rolling, and the soil is highly fertile for growing pasture. Since antebellum years, the Bluegrass Region has been a center for breeding quality livestock, especially
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horses.
The area is becoming increasingly developed with residential and commercial properties, particularly around Lexington. Farms are losing ground to development and slowly disappearing. The
World Monuments FundThe World Monuments Fund is a New York-based private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
has included the Bluegrass Region on its global list of 100 most endangered sites.
The Kentucky Bluegrass is bounded on the east by the
Cumberland PlateauThe Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia
. The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer...
, with the
Pottsville EscarpmentThe Pottsville Escarpment is a resistant sandstone belt of cliffs and steep sided, narrow crested valleys in eastern Kentucky, USA. It features rock shelters, waterfalls, and natural bridges...
forming the boundary. On the south and west, it borders the
Pennyroyal PlateauThe Pennyroyal Plateau, or, as it is more commonly called in Kentucky, the Pennyrile, is a large area of the state that features rolling hills, caves, and karst topography in general.The Pennyrile is bordered by the Pottsville Escarpment in the east...
, (also called the Pennyrile), with
Muldraugh HillMuldraugh Hill is an escarpment in central Kentucky separating the Bluegrass on the north and north-east from the Pennyrile on the south and south-west...
, another
escarpmentIn geomorphology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves a sharp, steep elevation differential, characterized by a cliff or steep slope. Usually escarpment is used interchangeably with scarp...
, forming the boundary. Much of the region is drained by the
Kentucky RiverThe Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, 259 mi long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal-mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing...
and its tributaries. The river cuts a deep
canyonA canyon, or gorge, is a deep valley between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Most canyons were formed by a process of long-time erosion from a plateau level. The cliffs form because harder rock strata that are resistant to erosion and weathering remain exposed on the valley walls...
called the
Kentucky River PalisadesThe Kentucky River Palisades are a series of steep, scenic gorges and limestone outcroppings that stretch for approximately 100 mi , along the Kentucky River in central Kentucky in the United States....
through the region, preserving
meanderA meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a river erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternatively eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
s that indicate that the river was once a mature low valley that was suddenly uplifted. Particularly near the Kentucky River, the region exhibits
KarstKilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after a Yugoslavian geologist Karst. It will consist of about 30 individual...
topography, with sinkholes, caves, and disappearing streams that drain underground to the river.
Although
Bluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of country music. It has roots in Irish, West African, Scottish, Welsh and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United Kingdom and Ireland , and African-Americans, particularly...
is popular throughout the region, the genre is actually indirectly named for the state rather than the region.
The overall climate for this region of the United States is a humid subtropical climate. It is located within the
Upland SouthThe terms Upper South and Upland South refer to the northern part of the Southern United States, in contrast to the Lower South or Deep South.-Geography:There is a slight difference in usage between the two terms...
region of the United States.
External links