Bluegrass region

The Bluegrass region (Shawnee: Eskippakithiki) is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the northern part of the state where a majority of the state's population has lived and developed its largest cities.

Before European-American settlement, various cultures of indigenous peoples adapted to the region, which had mostly a savannah of wide grasslands with interspersed enormous oak trees. They hunted its large herds of bison and other game, especially near salt licks. The name "Kentucky" means "meadow lands" in several different Indian languages and was specifically applied to this region. Europeans adopted the name to apply to the state. Europeans named the Bluegrass region for the blue flowered Poa grass that grew there.