Kentucky Bend

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Map of the exclave
Border between the Kentucky Bend and Tennessee

The Kentucky Bend (also New Madrid Bend after the city on the opposite bank) is a peninsula on the Mississippi River and an exclave of the American state of Kentucky . It is the only mainland exclave of any American state. The area has an area of ​​68.3 km² (45.5 km² of which is land) and according to the last census (2010) 18 inhabitants.

The exclave is surrounded on three sides by the Mississippi, which also forms the border of the state of Missouri . The Kentucky Bend borders Tennessee to the south . The area was affected by the great New Madrid earthquake of 1811 , which also changed the course of the Mississippi here. At that time, the river was already the border between the states of Kentucky and Tennessee to the east and Missouri to the west, and a line along 36 ° 30'N formed the border between Kentucky and Tennessee. More detailed land surveys in the 19th century found that this line now crossed the Mississippi several times and therefore the peninsula was not part of Tennessee. Since then, Kentucky Bend has been part of Fulton County .

It is the westernmost point in the state of Kentucky. On the banks of the Mississippi is also the 78 m above sea level. M. (257 feet ) lowest point in the state. The main link into the area is Tennessee State Route 22 . The United States Census Bureau lists the exclave as the Fulton County West CCD .

In 1870, over 300 people were still living in Kentucky Bend. At that time, the peninsula was an important cotton- growing area due to its very fertile soil . Immediately to the east of the exclave was Island No. 10 , a site in the American Civil War .

The mailing address is Tiptonville , Tennessee.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ US Bureau of Census
  2. www.usgs.gov

Web links

Coordinates: 36 ° 32 ′ 0 ″  N , 89 ° 31 ′ 0 ″  W.