Kentucky map

Where Kentucky is

Kentucky lies south of the Ohio River, where the Upper South meets the Midwest. It stretches about 380 miles east to west and 140 miles north to south, tapering to a narrow point at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi. Indiana, Ohio and Illinois lie across the Ohio River to the north, West Virginia to the east, Virginia to the southeast, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west across the Mississippi. Louisville is on the Ohio in the north-central part of the state, Lexington in the Bluegrass region to its east, and Frankfort between them on the Kentucky River.

Major cities

Geography

• Black Mountain — 4,145 feet, the highest point, on the Virginia line in Harlan County in the Cumberland range of the Appalachians.
• Ohio River — the entire 660-mile northern border, from the Big Sandy at the West Virginia corner to Cairo. See the Ohio River map.
• Mississippi River — the short western border; the lowest point, 257 feet, is on it in Fulton County, where the Kentucky Bend is an exclave reachable only through Tennessee. See the Mississippi River map.
• Kentucky, Green, Licking and Cumberland rivers — the main interior rivers, all flowing north or west to the Ohio; the Tennessee and Cumberland enter from Tennessee in the west.
• Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley — two huge reservoirs on the Tennessee and Cumberland in western Kentucky, separated by the Land Between the Lakes. See US lakes.
• Mammoth Cave — the longest known cave system in the world, more than 400 miles mapped, in the karst of south-central Kentucky.
• Time zones — the eastern half, including Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort, is on Eastern time; the western half, including Bowling Green, Owensboro and Paducah, is on Central time.

Borders

The Ohio River border is natural and dates from Virginia's 1784 land cession: Kentucky owns the river up to the northern low-water mark as it stood in 1792, so islands and the water belong to Kentucky. The Mississippi, Big Sandy and Tug Fork rivers form the western and north-eastern borders. The Virginia border follows the crest of Cumberland Mountain and Pine Mountain. The long Tennessee line was meant to follow 36°30′N but the 1779–80 Walker survey drifted several miles north, and later corrections left the border with a visible jog near the Tennessee River.

Regions of Kentucky

The Bluegrass (Lexington, Frankfort, horse country), Louisville and the Ohio River cities, Northern Kentucky across from Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky or the Cumberland Plateau coalfield (Pikeville, Hazard), the Pennyroyal or Pennyrile across the south (Bowling Green, Hopkinsville), the Western Coal Field (Owensboro, Madisonville) and the Jackson Purchase west of the Tennessee River (Paducah).

Related maps

• Kentucky county map — all 120 counties with seats.
• Blank Kentucky map — outline for printing.
• Printable Kentucky map.
• Frankfort — one of the smallest state capitals, on the Kentucky River.
• Neighbors: Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana.
• Region: South · East South Central.
• Time zones: Eastern and Central (western half).
• Geography: Ohio River, Appalachian Mountains, Mississippi River.