KY Geography Exam 1 – Flashcards
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How many counties are there in Kentucky?
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120
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Which county is largest in area?
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Pike
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Which county is largest in population?
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Jefferson
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Which county is smallest in area?
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Gallatin
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Which county is smallest in population?
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Robertson
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In what year did Kentucky become a US state?
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1792
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Before Kentucky was a state, it was one county. What was the name of that county?
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Virginia County
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From which state was Kentucky formed?
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Virginia
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What river forms most of the eastern border of Kentucky?
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Ohio River
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What were some of the problems that surveyors encountered while determining the eastern boundary?
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complex terrain, overlapping claims, survey team had to pick between Tug Fork and Levisa For of Big Sandy River
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What and where is Cumberland Gap?
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a gap in the eastern mountains that settlers were able to go through to enter the state
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What role did Cumberland Gap play in settling Kentucky?
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offered a passage through the eastern mountain for settlers
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In 1849, which Kentucky county wanted to leave the state and join up with Virginia? Why?
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Pike County, land claims
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Why was it harder to determine property claims and lines in Eastern Kentucky vs. Bluegrass?
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eastern KY had complex terrain and overlapping land claims from Revolutionary War
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Why did "metes and bounds" boundaries cause property disputes in Kentucky?
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land was surveyed using landmarks such as rocks, trees, etc.
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If someone called you a "Walcotter" should you be offended and why?
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yes- it was an insult and was a word to describe someone who was descendent of a Revolutionary War vet who sold land of their ancestors even though it was already claimed
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Who was Dr. Thomas Walker and what role did he play in shaping the boundaries of KY?
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surveyed the KY/TN border
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Today, what do we call the land that was formerly part of the Chickasaw Territory?
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Jackson's Purchase
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Where is Kentucky Bend and what is unique about it site and situation?
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Jackson's Purchase, you can't get there from any road in KY
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What did the Cox-Peebles Survey contribute to the boundaries of Kentucky?
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surveyed land between KY/TN, Simpson County (KY) gains and Sumner County (TN) loses
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What and where are the "Middleton Offset" and "Blackjack Corner"?
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a portion of the KY/TN border that was is jagged near Simpson County
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Why did Virginia cause problems for Kentucky when they defined the Ohio River boundary?
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Virginia originally surveyed the land but was vague so KY boundary conflicted when surveyed
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What is and where is the high point of elevation in Kentucky?
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Black Mountain (Harlan County)
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What is and where is the low point of elevation in Kentucky?
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Kentucky Bend (Fulton County)
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In which physiographic region would you find KY's largest coal deposits?
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eastern Kentucky
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In which region would you find the Levisa Fork, Tug Fork, and Upper Cumberland River?
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eastern Kentucky/cumberland plateau
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What are knobs?
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prominent hills
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Which of the two bluegrass regions would you find the most of the knobs?
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outer bluegrass
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The Eden Shale Belt separates which two physiographic regions?
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inner bluegrass and outer bluegrass
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If you are a farmer, would you be excited about buying in the Eden Shale Belt? Why?
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no - shale is garbage soil
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In which physiographic region are Louisville, Covington, and Richmond located?
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outer bluegrass: knobs
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What is said to be the most famous physiographic region in Kentucky and possibly the US?
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Inner Bluegrass
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What Inner Bluegrass county has some of the state's most strict agricultural land preservation laws?
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Fayette County
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What is karst topography?
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formed from weathered limestone, creates caves and sinkholes
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With what type of rock is karst topography most closely associated?
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limestone
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Which physiographic region is also known as the "Pennyrile"?
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Mississippi Plateau
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What is Pennyrile/Pennroyal?
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type of plant in the mint family
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Where is the Dripping Springs Escarpment and how did it get its name?
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Pennyrile/Mississippi Plateau
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How is that one time, Bowling Green claimed to have a "million year old sewer system?"
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BG used to have an open sewage system where sewage flowed into sinkholes and sewage ran through limestone into Lost River Cave
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Who was "Uncle Henry" Jamison and what was his claim to fame?
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hired to find the sinkholes in BG for the million year old sewer system
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In which physiographic region do you find Mammoth Cave?
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Pennyrile/Mississippi Plateau
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Where is Paradise and what did John Prine have to say about it in a song?
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Muhlenburgh County, became an anthem anti-strip mining groups
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Who "purchased" the "Purchase" and when?
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Andrew Jackson, 1818
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Graves County's shape is different from most counties in Kentucky. What is it?
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rectangle
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The Purchase region was once under water. Which body of water would that be?
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Gulf of Mexico
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What is loess and where would you find it in Kentucky?
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sandy/gravel sediment, found in Jackson's Purchase region
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Which physiographic region in Kentucky is most likely to experience seismic activity?
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eastern mountains
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What and where is Reelfoot Lake?
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only natural lake in KY (WKY)
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How does Reelfoot Lake relate to earthquakes and legends?
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Reelfoot was a Chickasaw Indian with a club foot and he fell in love with a woman but her father wouldn't give his blessing, Reelfoot took her back to his village and that night there was an earthquake that drowned the village; formed by New Madrid Earthquakes 1811-1812
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Can you name all the states that border Kentucky?
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West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio
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Can you name the two states with more counties than Kentucky?
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Texas, Georgia
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Which county has a misspelled name?
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Daviess
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In what year did Kentucky pass the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery?
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1976
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Which river is the longest water boundary for the state?
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Ohio River
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Who was John Filson and what was his claim to fame?
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drew the first map of Kentucky
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Veterans of which war were entitled to land claims in Kentucky? Why did they give them land?
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Revolutionary War
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What is the "Indian Head Rock" and which did is cause a lawsuit between two states and counties?
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A rock in the Ohio River that was an Indian artifact people from Ohio stole the rock, KY sued and won, the rock is now in a warehouse in KY
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Which county in the Eastern Coal Fields leads in coal produced?
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Pike County
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Why did Eastern Coal Fields develop more slowly than coal mined elsewhere in Kentucky?
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it was hard to transport coal out of the eastern mountains until railroads were installed
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How did river transportation influence early coal mining in Kentucky?
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coal was floated down the river so it was easiest to mine it in places with access to rivers (WKY)
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Kentucky ranks third in coal production in the US. Who is number one?
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Wyoming
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Why does mountaintop removal create environmental problems for Kentuckians?
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it ruins the drainage systems of valleys
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What is acid mine drainage?
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rocks are exposed to environment due to strip mining that become acids when exposed to oxygen and wash into water systems
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Which physiographic region can claim the most expensive farmland (cost per acre)?
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inner Bluegrass
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What is radon and where does is pose the greatest threat to the health of Kentuckians?
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colorless, odorless gas that is radioactive; emitted from limestone (BG at risk)
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There are two bluegrass regions in the US. One is in Kentucky, where is the other?
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Tennessee
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What was the worst flood in Kentucky history and how did it impact the state?
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1937 - everywhere in the Ohio River drainage basin was affected, tributaries flooded, Paducah was abandoned
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What commodity was floated down the Licking River to Cincinnati?
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logs
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What Kentucky River played an important role in 19th century politics and why?
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Salt River, boat captain was paid to make a wrong turn so Henry Clay missed an important debate
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What did the Green River contribute to Bowling Green's early history and growth?
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BG was the farthest you could get inland because of Barren River tributary so it became a port town
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What river separates the Purchase form the Western Coal Fields?
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Tennessee River
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What and where is the Land Between the Lakes?
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on the Tennessee River, damned by TVA
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Where does the Tennessee River join the Ohio River?
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Paducah
