Kentucky is located in the south central United States along the west side of the Appalachian Mountains and is bordered by seven states.
The Ohio River, running along the state's northern border, separates Kentucky from Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. West Virginia borders Kentucky to the northeast across the Big Sandy River, and Virginia borders Kentucky to the southeast. Tennessee borders Kentucky to the south, and Missouri adjoins the extreme western edge of the
state across the Mississippi River.
Kentucky ranks 37th in area among the 50 states, and according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, has an area of 40,411 square miles (104,664 square kilometers). It includes some of the most diverse areas within the eastern United States. In the eastern part of the state lies the Eastern Coal Fields, a rugged, mountainous area covered with
forests and dissected by streams. Most level land is restricted to river valleys. Kentucky's highest elevation is located in this region at Black Mountain in Harlan County - 4,145 feet (1,264 meters) above sea level. The western edge of the Eastern Coal Field encompasses most of the Daniel Boone National Forest. In the gently rolling central part of the
state, the Bluegrass region lies to the north and the Mississippian Plateau to the south, separated by a chain of low steep hills called the Knobs. The Western Coal Field, bordered on the north and northwest by the Ohio River lies in the Illinois basin. The southwest corner of the state is a low, flat plain called the Jackson Purchase. The lowest elevation
in the state is located in this region in Fulton County on the Mississippi River - 260 feet above sea level.
Kentucky has a temperate climate. The mean annual temperature ranges from 52ø F in the northeast to 58ø F in the southwest. January is the coldest month and July is the warmest. Annual precipitation averages about 45 inches, ranging from about 40 inches in the north at Covington to 53 inches in south central Kentucky. Snowfall is limited in many
sections of the state. Annually, it ranges from 5 to 10 inches in the southwestern sections to 25 inches in the northeastern sections and to 40 inches at higher elevations in the southeastern sections of the state.
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