The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern states (in particular the Upland South), but it is sometimes included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwest. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states to be officially known as a commonwealth. Originally a part of Virginia, in 1792 it became the 15th state to join the Union. Kentucky is the 37th largest state in terms of land area, and ranks 26th in population.
Kentucky is known as the "Bluegrass State," a nickname based on the fact that bluegrass is present in many of the lawns and pastures throughout the state. It is a land with diverse environments and abundant resources, including the world's longest cave system, the most miles of navigable waterways and streams in the Lower 48 states, and the two largest man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River. It is also home to the highest per capita number of deer and turkey in the United States, and the nation's most productive coalfield. Kentucky is also known for thoroughbred horses, horse racing, bourbon distilleries, bluegrass music, automobile manufacturing (including the best selling car, truck, and SUV in the U.S. market), tobacco, and college basketball.
Top tourist attractions in Kentucky:
City of Louisville, 7 million yearly visitors
Lake Cumberland, 5 million yearly visitors
Land Between the Lakes, 4 million yearly visitors
Mammoth Cave National Park, 2 million yearly visitors
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, 2 million yearly visitors
Red River Gorge / Natural Bridge, 1.5 million yearly visitors
Natural Attractions:
Cumberland Gap, chief passageway through the Appalachian Mountains in early American history.
Cumberland Falls State Park, one of the few places in the Western Hemisphere where a "moon-bow" may be regularly seen.
Mammoth Cave National Park, featuring the world's longest cave system.
Red River Gorge Geological Area, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Land Between the Lakes, a National Recreation Area managed by the United States Forest Service.
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest a 14,000 acre (57 km²) arboretum, forest and nature preserve located in Clermont.
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville.
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Whitley City.
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail also passes through Kentucky.
Black Mountain, state's highest point. Runs along the border of Harlan and Letcher counties.
Bad Branch Falls State Nature Preserve, 2,639 acre state nature preserve on southern slope of Pine Mountain in Letcher County. Includes one of the largest concentrations of rare and endangered species in the state, as well as a 60 foot (18 m) waterfall and a Kentucky Wild River.
Jefferson Memorial Forest, located south of Louisville in the Knobs region, the largest municipally run forest in the United States.
Green River Lake State Park, located in Taylor County.
Lake Cumberland, 1,255 miles (2,020 km) of shoreline located in South Central Kentucky.
Private Liberal Arts Colleges:
Alice Lloyd College
Asbury College
Berea College
Centre College
Georgetown College
Kentucky Wesleyan College
Midway College
University of the Cumberlands (formerly Cumberland College)
Saint Catharine College
Transylvania University
Thomas More College (Kentucky)
Union College (Kentucky)
Private Colleges and Universities:
Asbury Theological Seminary
Bellarmine University
Brescia University
Campbellsville University
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College
Daymar College
Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing
Kentucky Christian University
Kentucky Mountain Bible College
Lexington Theological Seminary
Lindsey Wilson College
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Louisville Technical Institute
Mid-Continent University
National College
Pikeville College
Simmons College of Kentucky
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Spalding University
Spencerian College
Sullivan University
Transylvania University
Public Universities:
Eastern Kentucky University
Kentucky State University
Morehead State University
Murray State University
Northern Kentucky University
University of Kentucky
University of Louisville
Western Kentucky University
Community and Technical Colleges:
Ashland Community and Technical College
Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Bowling Green Technical College
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Gateway Community and Technical College
Hazard Community and Technical College
Henderson Community College
Hopkinsville Community College
Jefferson Community and Technical College
Madisonville Community College
Maysville Community and Technical College
Owensboro Community and Technical College
Somerset Community College
Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College
West Kentucky Community and Technical College
Unaccredited Colleges in Kentucky:
Commonwealth Baptist College
Colleges with campuses in Kentucky:
Brown Mackie College
Draughons Junior College
Indiana Wesleyan University
ITT Technical Institute
McKendree College
Southwestern College
University of Phoenix
Webster University
The biggest day in horse racing, the Kentucky Derby, is preceded by the two-week Kentucky Derby Festival in Louisville. Louisville also plays host to the Kentucky State Fair, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, and Southern gospel's annual highlight, the National Quartet Convention. Owensboro, Kentucky's third largest city, gives credence to its nickname of "Barbecue Capital of the World" by hosting the annual International Bar-B-Q Festival. Bowling Green, Kentucky's fifth largest city and home to the only assembly plant in the world that manufactures the Chevrolet Corvette, opened the National Corvette Museum in 1994.
Old Louisville, the largest historic preservation district in the United States featuring Victorian architecture and the third largest overall, hosts the St. James Court Art Show, the largest outdoor art show in the United States. The neighborhood was also home to the Southern Exposition (1883-1887), which featured the first public display of Thomas Edison's light bulb, and was the setting of Alice Hegan Rice's novel, Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch and Fontaine Fox's comic strip, the "Toonerville Trolley.
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