Kentucky: staff of corn whiskey

The state of Kentucky (USA) is located in the southeastpart of the state. Its area is about 105 thousand square kilometers. In this indicator, he is in 37 place in the country. In the United States, Kentucky entered in 1792. The population of the region is estimated at 4.4 million inhabitants.

origin of name

At present, scientists are considering severalvariants of origin of the name of this state. Without a doubt, it was borrowed from the language of one of the Aboriginal tribes, who lived here many centuries ago. Based on the main version, the title is translated as "dark and bloody land." Researchers believe that it appeared in the thirteenth century. Then, many local tribes were driven out of here by Iroquois Indians as a result of numerous and bloody wars. Along with this, some researchers tend to the fact that the name means "the land of a new day". Equally popular is the theory from which Kentucky is a state whose name is of Iroquois origin and is translated as "prairies" or "meadow".

Geography and climate

Kentucky lies in a region that is known as theUpper South of the USA. It borders on such states as Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee. An interesting feature of the region is that its western, northern and eastern borders run along the rivers (Mississippi, Ohio, and also Tag-Fork and Big Sandy, respectively). A significant part of the state is represented by the Appalachian Mountains. Since here a lot of meadow bluegrass grows, it is often called the edge of blue grass.

Kentucky is the state in whichsubtropical, continental type of climate. In summer, the temperature of the air rarely rises above the mark of 30 degrees of heat, and in winter it drops no lower than minus 5 degrees.

Population

As already noted above, the populationthe region is about 4.4 million people. Of these, Americans account for about 21% of the local population, for Germans - 12.7%, for the Irish - 10.5%, for the British - almost 10%. Speaking of the racial composition, it should be noted that the state is dominated by mostly white citizens. African Americans account for only 8% of local residents, and for all others - only 2%. As for religion, the third part of the population is Evangelical Christians, 10% are adherents of the Roman Catholic Church, 9% - Protestants. One can not help but emphasize the fact that 46.5% of the inhabitants of Kentucky do not consider themselves to be one of the religions.

Cities

Louisville (Kentucky) is the largestcity ​​in the region. Here live about 550 thousand people. Megapolis is famous for its unique parks. In second place is the 300 thousandth Lexington. Despite this, the capital of the state is the city of Frankfort, erected on the river Kentucky in 1835. Here live only 25 thousand people. As in any administrative center, its economy is based on the public sector. In other words, the majority of the population works in various levels of government. Other major cities in Kentucky are Owensboro, Bardstown, Richmond, Henderson, Conwington and others.

Economy

The most developed industries in the region aretextile, mining, food and tobacco industries, engineering, production of alcoholic beverages, electronics, furniture, footwear, hardware. The most common local minerals are natural gas, oil and coal. Most industrial enterprises are located along the Ohio River. In the eastern part of the state, timber production is well established, and the city of Paducah is one of the largest centers of the state's nuclear industry.

Kentucky is the state that occupies the secondplace by the volume of tobacco production. In addition, the local farms grow corn, soy, fodder grass, as well as bred cattle and racehorses. One can not but note the mass production of an unofficial business card of the US - corn whiskey, known as bourbon.

Tourist attraction

Tourism is considered one of the fastest growingdeveloping industries in Kentucky. This is not surprising, because the state can boast not only numerous historical sights, but also unique natural beauty. It is here that the world famous Cumberland waterfalls are located - one of the largest in the country. Quite interesting are the caves in limestone washed by the Kentucky River. The longest of them has an extent of 630 kilometers and is known as the Mammoth Cave.

Quite popular are also horse racing,which are annually held at the racetrack in Louisville. Here is the museum dedicated to them. Thirty kilometers from this city is located "Fort Knox", which is the repository of the country's gold reserve. Many tourists come to the historic park "Lincoln's Birthplace". Kentucky is the state that is home to American whiskey from corn. For fans of this drink are constantly organized special thematic tours, which include not only tasting, but also interesting stories about the history of its origin and the development of production.