NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



351 



flora are in their natural condition. 

 There are, however, witlely separated 

 and restricted areas in which natural 

 conditions nearly obtain. The flora of 

 these regions simulates the original con- 

 dition, but the fauna in most instances 

 is either greatly reduced in number and 

 species, or reduced and otherwise altered 

 by additions of new groups. The prin- 

 cipal areas which approach a natural 

 condition are: 



1. A few swamps and lowlands border- 

 ing the Mississippi River in the "Pur- 

 chase Region." 



2. A few recently discovered or undis- 

 covered caves in central, southern, and 

 eastern Kentucky. 



3. The topmost craggy ridges of the 

 Pine and Cumberland Mountains. 



4. A few timber tracts in Harlan, 

 Perry, Leslie, Knott, Breathitt, Pike, 

 and Martin Counties. These tracts 

 are for the most part small. 



5. A few dissociated but geologically 

 contiguous dells, coves, and hollows 

 along the outcrop of the Potts- 

 ville Conglomerate (Pennsylvanian) in 

 eastern Kentucky and on the western 

 edge of the eastern coal field. 



6. A very few hollows in the vicinity 

 of outcrops of the Cypress sandstone 

 (Mississippian) in western Kentucky, 

 notably in Grayson and Breckenridge 

 Counties. 



7. Widely scattered throughout the 

 State, notably in Elliott, Pulaski, Rock- 

 castle, Laurel, Edmonson and Clinton 

 counties, there are restricted areas in 

 the box canj^ons of entrenched streams 

 which simulate natural conditions. 

 These canyons were in the beginning too 

 small to permit extensive lumbering 

 and the timber now found in them is 

 not much different from what it was 

 originally. The streams in many cases 

 occupy the entire floors of the canyons, 

 especially at high water, and do not 

 allow cultivation. Streams on which 

 such conditions occur arc the headwaters 

 of the Little Sandy in Elliott County, 

 headwaters of the Cumberland River, 

 headwaters of the Rockcastle River in 

 Rockcastle County, and streams in 



Powell, Wolfe, Lee, Jackson, Laurel, 

 Pulaski, and Whitley Counties, and on 

 Nolan River and Deer Creek in Gray- 

 son and Edmonson Counties and 111 

 Will Creek in Clinton County. The 

 greatest change in all of this region, and 

 in fact in the state generally, has lieen 

 the removal of the larger native forest 

 trees and the extinction of certain spe- 

 cies in the local fauna. 



8. Original aquatic biologic conditions 

 of western Kentucky in the Mississippi 

 River bottoms, and in some portions of 

 the western Kentucky coal field adjoin- 

 ing the Ohio River, simulate original 

 conditions. 



9. The caves still retain their natural 

 fauna and flora. 



-{. Location of unpolluted waters 



Unpolluted waters realh' do not occur 

 in Kentucky due to the fact that the 

 state is almost entirely inhabited. 

 However, if the term "unpolluted" 

 refers to such waters as are in a nearly 

 natural condition with only mountain 

 fanns afi'ecting their drainage basins, 

 the following may be listed: 



L Head of the Middle and South 

 Forks of the Kentucky River. 



2. Head of Green River, in Knott 

 County. 



3. Head of Johns Creek in Pike 

 County. 



4. Head of Beaver Creek in Knott 

 County. 



Besides these which are really in a 

 class by themselves, there are hundreds 

 of small creeks and branches in Ken- 

 tucky which are unpolluted by city, 

 manufacturing or mining drainage. In- 

 stances of this sort of stream which is 

 alwaj's short and small, can be found in 

 almost every county of the state. The 

 water strictly speaking, however, is 

 not unpolluted since it is sometimes used 

 for watering animals. 



5. Kentucky caverns. Kentucky is 

 famous for its cavernous regions which 

 afl^ord not only the largest of caves, 

 Mammoth Cave (D5) in Edmonson 

 County, but also a very large numher of 

 caves distributed over a wide area of 



