Did you know that 35 out of the 120 counties in Kentucky are in the
Eastern Mountains and Coal Fields? When the early settlers came to Kentucky they
first had to travel through the Cumberland Gap, which is a small opening in the
Cumberland Mountains. The Cumberland Gap is so small that a wagon would not fit
through it, it is about four feet wide. The mountains separate Virginia from western Kentucky. The
Cumberland Mountains are part of the Appalachian Mountains which is a stretch of
mountains that extends 1,500 miles, from Canada to Alabama. They are the oldest
and highest mountains in the eastern part of the United States.
Knobs
The
Knobs is the smallest region in Kentucky most people describe it as a horseshoe
shape. The Knobs has very rocky hills that are not high enough to be called
mountains. In the valleys there is good farming. Not one county, out of the one
hundred and twenty is in the Knobs.