Eastern Kentucky Coalfield

The Daniel Boone National Forest is located on rough but beautiful[citation needed] terrain along and east of the Pottsville Escarpment.

[citation needed] The Red River Gorge, part of the National Forest, is known worldwide in rock climbing circles.

During the American Civil War most of this region leaned toward the Union due to its makeup at the time of mostly small farmers, but more than 2,000 men from this area formed the 5th.

During the Great Depression, New Deal programs and the organizing of the United Mine Workers of America made many of the eastern counties Democratic.

These include: Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, The Judds, Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, Patty Loveless, Dwight Yoakam, Tom T. Hall, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jean Ritchie, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Chris Stapleton, and George S. Davis.

[5] In the 1980 census, 1,267,079 Kentuckians out of a total population of 2,554,359 cited that they were of English ancestry, making them 49 percent of the state at that time.

The state's highest point, Black Mountain, is located in the southeastern part of the region in Harlan County.

[11] A June 2014 article in The New York Times identified six counties in the Kentucky Coal Field as among the "hardest places to live in the United States."

The factors which accounted for the low ranking of those six counties were unemployment, prevalence of disabilities, obesity, income, and education.

From 2010 to 2014, Appalachian Kentucky had an average poverty rate of 25.4%—the highest of any of the ARC regions—, compared to 18.9% statewide and 15.6% nationwide.

Twenty-five Eastern Mountain Coal Field counties—Bell, Breathitt, Carter, Clay, Elliott, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, McCreary, Menifee, Morgan, Owsley, Powell, Rowan, Whitley, and Wolfe—were designated "distressed," while four – Laurel, Montgomery, Perry, and Pike – were designated "at-risk."

Factors influencing the health of residents include a high prevalence of smoking and obesity and a low level of physical activity.