per square mile. percent of the state, with 4.8 percent of the state’s population—about 75 people been replaced in many areas by cropland. The area of the region is about 6 races. Grasslands and forested wetlands were once widespread, but have broad bottomlands, and ter- area of gently rolling uplands, provide a productive agricultural silt from the Great Plains— plains—windblown deposits of is generally less than 100 feet. The loess ponds, sloughs, and swamps. Local relief relatively flat-lying, with numerous lakes, consequently this part of Kentucky is rock; therefore they are easily eroded, and are unconsolidated sediment instead of of the Gulf Mexico. Most deposits Region was covered by a northern extension I along cracks and crevices, and shales break shales and crevices, and cracks along and siltstones resist erosion, limestones dissolve siltstones, shales, and limestones. Sandstones differential weathering of interbedded sandstones, Ohio Rivers. lapped at the confluence of Mississippi and sea the when time a younger,of are remnants silts, and clays of the Jackson Purchase Region 250 to 500 million years old. The sands, gravels, exposing at the surface a cross section of rocks erosion shaved the hills and dissected the plains, and Weathering lowlands. swampy or floors originally formed from sediments on shallow sea rocks— the buckled and bent, lifted, forces geologic forces and the underlying rocks. Tectonic T terrain : elevation, landforms, geology Survey annually. Calloway County photo by Glynn Beck, Kentucky Geological more than 36 million bushels of corn and soybeans and 115 million chickens agricultural economy. Seventy percent of the land is in farms that produce climate provide the eight-county Jackson Purchase Region with a strong Agriculture in the Purchase n recent geologic time, the Jackson Purchase Kentucky Geological Survey floor tile, bathtubs, and fine dinnerware. which makes it suitable for the manufacture of toilets, sinks, County since the 1800's. It has a high percentage of aluminum, Below the Surface Geological Survey Glynn Beck, Kentucky Trigg County photo by wildlife of the region. ence the beauty and oped shoreline to experi- 300 miles of undevel- the 170,000 acres and million visitors a year visit Recreation Area. Two tween the Lakes National Elk herd in the Land be- 34 J The landforms in Kentucky are the result of the he terrain of Kentucky has been shaped by shaped been has Kentucky of terrain he in Warren County (Mammoth Cave Plateau). resistant sandstone caps the hills Kentucky Parkway Sandstone overlying limestone is exposed along the Western Clifty Area 29 ACKSON

41 of map sheet Explanation . 10

90

24 James C. Cobb, State Geologist and Director

KENTUCKY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, LEXINGTON the physical features of a region—slope, a of features physical the R

Alluvial valley Bluegrass Region Knobs and Shale Belt Pennyroyal Region Eastern Kentucky Coal Field Western Kentucky Coal Field Jackson Purchase Region

Sinkholes

State capital

County seat

Incorporated city

Parkway or Interstate highway

U.S. highway

State primary highway

County boundary

State boundary

Photograph location . —Ball clay has been mined in Graves EGION (above) in Grayson County. The erosion for primary map in center

10 P Land Between the Lakes 35 URCHASE . —Level land, groundwater, and a temperate Kentucky Terrain

10 Daniel I. Carey and Terry D. Hounshell (below) of the Clifty Area

0 Photo by Glynn Beck,

0

10

10 32 30

20 Kentuckians live there. of Kentucky and one in six Pennyroyal includes 26 percent miles explored to date. The in the world (by far), with 365 caverns and rooms more than 100 feet wide. The Mammoth Cave–Flint Ridge cave system is the longest This groundwater can form miles of passages beneath the surface, from tiny conduits only inches wide to large limestone. This limestone is soluble, which means it can easily be dissolved by water moving through the ground. terrain, called karst, occurs because the bedrock in region is dominated by thick deposits of Mississippian become surface water. Caves are solution-enlarged fractures or conduits large enough for a person to enter. This in size from a few feet to hundreds of diameter. Springs occur when water emerges from underground to on the land surface into which water drains underground. Usually circular and often funnel-shaped, they range tens of thousands of sinkholes, sinking streams, streamless valleys, springs, and caverns. Sinkholes are depressions Purchase, surrounding the Western Kentucky Coal Field. It is primarily characterized as a limestone plain containing T he Pennyroyal Region stretches from the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field and Bluegrass to Jackson A

20 P Survey. William Andrews, Kentucky Geological adapted from GIS data developed by Regional and subregional delineations map data. Division of Geographic Information, for base Thanks to Kim and Kent Anness, Kentucky

30

LLUVIAL MISSOURI ENNYROYAL

MISSISSIPPI and header block matches the map region color). picture group for that and text associated the to go then and map the on in live you region the find area, your of are distinctive. Kentucky of regions different the of economy and ecology the turn, In region. to region from vary and history geologic of products the are limestone, the land becomes hillier. to relative increases rocks the in content shale (karst topography) and gently rolling land. As the lain by limestone may have few surface streams rounded, with wide stream valleys. Areas under- content increases, the landscape becomes more tend to have hills with steep sides. As the shale Areas dominated by sandstones and siltstones water. and air to exposed when quickly down

40

Subregion

37 37

To learn more about the rocks and terrain typical Natural resources—coal, oil, natural gas, soils—

° °

30 cal Survey. Kentucky Geologi- to by Glynn Beck, County drainage, Hickman in the Obion Creek cal cypress swamp Wetlands —A typi- Limestone and gravel Land between the Lakes— stone Limestone, shale, and silt- Eastern Pennyroyal coal Shale, sandstone, siltstone, Western Pennyroyal limestone Clifty Area —Sandstone,

50 Kilometers V (right) . —Dominant Rock Type RIVER ALLEYS

40 Miles Hickman Pho- gravel Alluvium —Loess, silt, clay, and silt, and clay Uplands —Loess, gravel, sand, Subregions Generalized block diagram of the karst terrain in Pennyroyal region. Map and Chart 16, 1 sheet. Generalized block diagram of the western Pennyroyal karst: Kentucky Geological Survey, ser. 12, Spring

FULTON R shaft Vertical stream Base-level

Bedded chert Obion

Columbus Barlow

pond Ridgetop Wickliffe 33

EGION OHIO LaCenter

N

—

89 Blandville —

51 region (color-coded frame

Arlington °

BALLARD

Bardwell 89

HICKMAN Clinton

CARLISLE

° Fulton caprock protective Non-limestone

For information on obtaining copies of this map and other Kentucky Geological Survey maps and publications call: Public Information Center (859) 257-3896 ext. 126 Toll free: (877) 778-7827 ext. 126 View the KGS World Wide Web site at www.uky.edu/kgs

Mayfield Kevil

58 C Siltstone

121 r

e

Ju e li k an McCRACKEN M 16

. C WaterValley a 5 r 60 ro ll

62

80

W Kentucky’s development. played a significant role in agriculture— alluvium has homes, communities, and the only areas available for County) —which are often (left bottom, Johnson valleys of eastern Kentucky and industry, to the narrow portation for communities level land, water, and trans- Maysville) that provides floodplain (left top, From the wide Ohio River scape across Kentucky. form an important land- el along large streams— of silt, sand, clay, and grav- alluvial valleys—deposits

R

Wingo

Sinkhole I V

hile not a region as such,

E pond R 32

GRAVES

45 cave passage Base-level

33 C

r

e e k

P Mayfield valley Karst

u 24 r c

h PADUCAH

a

s

e West

Fork T passages Cave e Sinkhole n Parkway n

MARSHALL

e

ILLINOIS

LIVINGSTON E s

a City Calvert

Benton s

s e

402 t A

58 e some parts of the state, but deep beneath surface in other areas. How the bending, warping, and erosion of layers rocks causes them to occur at surface in Fork (Mississippi Embayment) W

68

Jackson Purchase

Hardin

Smithland R

window Karst

i C

v

e

hole Dry u Region

Subregion—

Rock Type Hazel

Currens, J.C., 2001, r m ESTERN

641

b

Murray Clarks

e

Salem was made possible by local game and fishing clubs. the lake covers 825 acres in Muhlenberg, Todd, and Logan Counties. The lake bluffs and hardwood forests with hiking trails. Constructed in the late 1950's, in the Sandstones Hills Region. The lake is surrounded by 50-foot sandstone Sandstone Hills —The fishing is good below the outlet spillway of Lake Malone

Hills r

34 River

31 l well Producing a C

CALLOWAY

silt, sand, and gravel and lake deposits: clay, Lowlands —Loess, river, stone, siltstone, coal Uplands —Shale, sand- stone, shale, some coal Hills —Sandstone, silt- n

121

d

Rivers Grand

Sinking stream r

Cave entrance e v i OAL Illustration by Collie Rulo R

62 Eddyvillle by Glynn Beck, Kentucky Geological Survey siltstone, and coal, form the ro lling uplands of Webster County. Upland Topography

Kentucky Uplands Pennyroyal

LYON

table Water Kuttawa

Lake Region Dominant

THE LAKES THE

BETWEEN 35

LAND K Shale F

Elevation (feet)

Marion

Fredonia 88 ENTUCKY 1,500 – 4,111 1,000 – 1,500 750 – 1,000 500 – 750 257 IELD

° Tabb Fault System the "World's Largest Cave Entrance." in Horse Cave, Hart County, was once billed as Hidden River Cave entrance below Main Street National Agricultural Imagery Program, 2004 typical of the karst plain. sinkhole will form. A landscape in Hart County dimpled with sinkholes and sinkhole ponds the ceiling of an underground conduit becomes too thin to support overlying soil, a sudden-collapse and crevices, dissolving the li Limestone is exposed along the Natcher Parkway in Warren County 27 Western Pennyroyal 26 * 28 – 500

CALDWELL

T

r

Cadiz a

d —Loess deposits, underlain by shale, sandstone, e *

Western Kentucky Princeton excluding quarry pits

Barkley W w Lake e a

(Illinois Basin) n t

Coal Field

d e

e r Providence

l HENDERSON TRIGG l

H

. Clay

F R

o i

r v

d e

r Dixon

Little HOPKINS Corydon

41

Beshear

Aerial photo by the U.S. TENNESSEE

A

Lafayette

Springs Dawson

1

Lake River

68

Saint Charles Saint

WEBSTER 24

2 Nebo D Madisonville

mestone, and forming underground condui

r .

i Earlington

56

p Robards

Mortons Gap Mortons

Slaughters p

sand, silt, clay, and gravel. Outside the valleys, low hills predominate, underlain the Ohio River and the wide valleys of the interior streams are underlain by loess, bottomlands to forested hills. The poorly drained floodplains and terraces along

T

Crofton

i Sebree

n

Hanson

Nortonville

he topography of the Western Kentucky Coal Field ranges from nearly level nearly from ranges Field Coal Kentucky Western the of topography he

Henderson g

by 300-million-year-old Pennsylvanian shale, sandstone, siltstone, limestone, Rough Creek

41 E d

w

Audubon

41 a Fault System

r

d

T . B r e a t h i t 41 t

A Pennyroyal

CHRISTIAN P

a

r

Pembroke k Region w coal, and underclay. Around the a

Hopkinsville y

Grove

. Oak

G

r

e

e

Parkway n narrower and the terrain more rugged, with hills capped by erosion-

R Photo

56

31

White Plains White

Department of Agriculture, Farm Services Administration,

3 i

E. v e

60 2

resistant sandstone. resistant Pond River r

MUHLENBERG Kentucky Geological Survey below sea level, is in the quarry floor. of stone annually. The lowest point in Kentucky, 100 feet 24 hours a day, producing between 8 and 10 million tons Quarry Limestone is abundant in Livingston County. The Reed

Fk. Shale Belt 37 the Dripping Springs Escarpment. Looking across the karst plain in Hart County toward

McLEAN Knobs 12 percent of Kentucky that is the Western Kentucky Coal Kentucky Western the is that Kentucky of percent 12

R and Bremen e Geological Survey produces 105 million chickens annually. producing 75 million bushels of corn and soybeans. The region also Western Kentucky Coal Field is in farmland, 35 percent cropland, and residential commercial development. Sixty percent of the formed of eroded loess deposits, and provide land for crops, pasture, for cropland. Seasonal flooding limits land use. Terraces on the left, floodplains and undulating terraces. The lowlands are used extensively Henderson County, is composed of nearly level, poorly drained Alluvial Bottomland Field—about 60 people per square mile. Lowlands

Trenton d 1 R. Sacramento

41 DAVIESS Calhoun

62 Central City Central

(above) , now the third largest in the world, operates Livermore

illustration not to scale

Springs Island

Lake Malone

TODD Kentucky Geological Survey the Natcher Parkway in Ohio County. and coal that shape the region are exposed at this roadcut on Bedrock —The 300-million-year-old shale, sandstone, siltstone,

Bluegrass Region Greenville

4

Elkton

Guthrie Powderly

79

431 (above left) . Water seeps into cracks

ts that may extend for miles. When W Cincinnati

e Centertown G

s 231

Allensville

Arch

Owensboro

t 38

e r

Lewisburg

Drakesboro

3 W

431 .

r e

68 i n l

l e i °

a the on live Kentuckians of percent Eight m

n 231

87

H —The Ohio River bottomland, seen here in .

McHenry N

87 °

80 a

t

c

. h

boundary of the region the valleys are boundary of the region Rockport Red e

R ° r

i

v Lexington Fault

e

Parkway Whitesville Beaver

r System Dam

4

River M

u

431 d

Lewisport

Rochester Hartford Photo by Glynn Beck,

Russellville R Hawesville

(above right) is o R

Adairville u

BUTLER

. Kentucky River

i g

v h

OHIO Fault System e

LOGAN

K Photo by Glynn Beck, Kentucky

HANCOCK r INDIANA

79 Auburn e Shale Belt

n Fordsville

t Knobs

u

and

c

k y Photo by Dave Williams,

231

SIMPSON

60

R

i

P v

Franklin Morgantown

E k

Bowling Green Bowling e s w r c y

. Cloverport

a Woodbury r BRECKINRIDGE

p Slope Eastern Kentucky Coal Field

m B

31

Caneyville

photo above. ridgetops and steep wooded hillsides Pennyroyal is rolling. Otherwise, it is more rugged, with level Where siltstone is thin or missing, the terrain in Eastern a stone-capped hill along Ky. 61 in Cumberland County. Dark shales are interbedded with limestone beneath this silt-

W e

Eastern Pennyroyal r

water recreation and miles of shoreline for outdoor activities. River, and Green River—providing over 70,000 acres of made lakes—Dale Hollow The Eastern Pennyroyal is home to all or parts of four man- n r

t 29 e

(Appalachian Basin)

Woodburn n Very steep Hilly to steep Rolling to hilly Level to rolling 27

79 65

WARREN

Hardinsburg

R

i

v

EDMONSON e Leitchfield

GRAYSON

r Brownsville

MEADE

Rough

River Lake Irvington

231 Brandenburg

259

Oakland Clarkson

ALLEN Black Shale— viable. of shale oil may someday become economically enough organic matter to burn, and the extraction when dry and swell when wet. The shale contains shrink to it causes which pyrite, contains shale the on roadcut AACounty.Lewis in Highway The this in seen as exposed, when unstable become

31 deposits. Marion County photo above. east, carve wide valleys with fertile alluvium Rolling Fork River (above) and Red in the flow through the Knobs and Shale Belt, such as and Berea are located in the Knobs Region. Streams that and Devonian black and clay shales. Bernheim Forest (south of Louisville) and sandstones. The Knobs are associated with the outcrop belt of Silurian Formation, which are more easily eroded than the overlying limestones composed of shales the 350-million-year-old Mississippian Borden limestones or sandstones. The sloping sides of the Knobs are mostly by stream erosion. Many of the knobs are still capped by erosion-resistant sippian Plateau (Pennyroyal Region), but were separated from the plateau monadnocks or erosional remnants that shaped hills lying at the outer The Knobs consists of hundreds isolated, steep-sloping, often cone-

E Pine Mountain (above) , Cumberland, Barren

MAMMOTH CAVE MAMMOTH NATIONAL PARKNATIONAL

101

Smiths Overthrust Fault

Grove Nolin

Lake

259 Scottsville Mountain 30

62 Ekron Pine A

60 as in the Taylor County

68

Escarpment A

Slopes of black shale erode quickly and

VineGrove Park City Park

Nolin HARDIN

Elizabethtown

86 86

Barren River Lake

HART Point

G West

° ° r

e Sondra

90 Cave City Cave

BARREN e Upton

65 n

FountainRun

28 OHIO Radcliff

udags Hill Muldraughs RIVER

Glasgow S

31 a l

Cave t Horse edge of the Bluegrass

W Bonnieville

26

Munfordville

24

INDIANA Shepherdsville 25 23

R Shively

MONROE

LARUE

i

Hiseville R v e Hollyvilla

R

i r

v o 37

e l

65 l

Gamaliel r i Hodgenville

31 n g were originally part of the Missis-

E

65

Tompkinsville

Edmonton

Junction Lebanon

METCALFE New Haven New

61

M

BULLITT Hillview

arth JEFFERSON

31

L 264

i

t

t GREEN

Washington Mount

l Greensburg R.

e E

a

B F a valleys of as much 900 feet amounts of land and elevation differences between ridgetops and dissected upland, with valleys and ridges occupying about equal Repeating the process for millions of years creates a completely quickly, leaving no support for the shale. When the shale is exposed to air sandstone and flows downward until it meets the impermeable in Floyd County. Water penetrates cracks and crevices in the Bottom area is exposed along Ky. 302 near Dewey Lake Sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coal of the Mountain Creek r r 62 e Mountain and Creek Bottom Area n

L Region. The hills are

o a

61 r k y

CUMBERLAND

n Bardstown e Jeffersontown C 265 17

31

o Anchorage

52 l

E l i n

s Middletown 90 L o u Valley Pewee i Crestwood

e Taylorsville

SPENCER

NELSON 24

B Fairfield

TAYLOR Raywick

42

TRIMBLE . Milton N Simpsonville u n Bedford

61 n

A C Loretto

61

u 55 20

m ADAIR

Lebanon Springfield

b 421 Burkesville

e Campbellsville Shelbyville r 20 l Smithfield

150

71 Bloomfield

23 a

n 68

Columbia Eminence d

55

SHELBY

Green River

Taylorsville 19 (Floyd County photo below)

55

Dale Hollow Lake

25 64

MARION

Lake

55

Lake Campbellsburg

R WASHINGTON

Guist Creek

overlying rocks, which soon fall. Albany

127 Jamestown

555

iv Bradfordsville

55

New Castle New Carrollton

e +

r 15 K

CLINTON e

HENRY Mackville

Springs Salt Russell Willisburg n

t CARROLL

Lake u

Pleasureville ANDERSON c

and water, it breaks down B k l y u pollute surface and groundwater. effluent can travel quickly through underground openings and channels, cracks, and crevices. Contaminated water septic Porous limestone in the Inner Bluegrass is laced with solution

e highways and byways of the Bluegrass. local limestone by Irish immigrant stonemasons grace the struction. Mile after mile of historic stone fences made from soils and level terrain, spring-fed ponds, rock for con- Inner Bluegrass

60

Inner Bluegrass Worthville

18

Ghent Lawrenceburg

R

G 22 r i a FRANKFORT v

RUSSELL s s e

BOYLE

r Liberty

Harrodsburg P

GALLATIN 85

MERCER MERCER k P w +

° a

39 Sanders y Gratz r

. 421 k

°

w Perryville

127

a R

90 Warsaw

i y v

e Sparta

WAYNE Junction City Junction (above) r

+

+ Danville

FRANKLIN

127

127

. Monterey —Limestone in the Bluegrass provides rich

127

WOODFORD

34 22

CASEY

Herrington

Cumberland

+

Versailles Owenton

BOONE

Burlington Glencoe

+

80 Monticello 8

OWEN

9

275

Hustonville 62

Lake

T

h

e 460

P

a

l

Lake i s

Burgin a

d 71

L Midway

i e Union t s

tle Florence Stanford

42 Cumberland Escarpment/Mississippian Plateau Wolfe County, photo by John F. Stickney) waterfalls, and graceful arches the way, natural erosion in sandstone creates amphitheaters, Cumberland Escarpment Fortress cliffs of sandstone dominate the landscape

+

Ground Stamping

attraction. and caves. Carter Caves in County is a popular limestones that create a karst topography with sinkholes Mississippian Plateau are underlain by Many low-lying areas along the Cumberland Escarpment/ Science Hill Science

GRANT

Crittenden

Erlanger

Dry Ridge Dry VillaHills South Georgetown

Boltz Lake

SCOTT

COVINGTON

75 Wilmore

2

27

7

JESSAMINE

LINCOLN Eubank F Independence

GARRARD Walton o LEXINGTON

150

68

r 25

60

Bullock Pen

k Lake Edgewood

14

KENTON Dix +

25 Burnside

PULASKI

Orchard

Ferguson

Ft. Mitchell Ft.

Lancaster

Nicholasville

Somerset

Williamstown

Sadieville

Corinth

275

Crab

S Newport

o

u 75

27 Visalia t h PENDLETON

Williamstown Lake

FAYETTE

River 471

HARRISON Fork

Brodhead Licking

Heights Ryland

4

T Dayton

2 h R

Fort Fort Thomas 7

e i Butler

+ v

461 P

CAMPBELL Whitley City Whitley

a e

Silver Grove Silver Cynthiana

McCREARY l

South is r

27 Alexandria

Linville

(photo 11, Powell County) a d

Lake

e Berry 52 s

62 Melbourne

90

80

Vernon

Mount

64 Fork Falmouth 36

(photo 12, Princess Arch in 75

Rock ROCKCASTLE

c 18

a 27 s California

C tle u K

Kincaid

Williamsburg Winchester

25 39

MADISON

m Berea River e

Lake North Middletown North

+

Laurel River

Lake

Paris

Richmond Mentor n °

b Millersburg t County to 23 people per square mile in Robertson County. an average of 190 people per square mile, ranging from 1,750 mile in Jefferson by Europeans, includes about 25 percent of Kentucky. Over 50 percent of all Kentuckians live there– in construction. Water from limestone springs is bottled and sold. The Bluegrass, the first region settled the Palisades of Kentucky River. Limestones strata lie buried beneath the surface. The oldest rocks at the surface in Kentucky are exposed along and Mississippian shales and limestones lie beneath the perimeter of the region. Much of the Ordovician is composed of Ordovician limestones and shales 450 million years old. Younger Devonian, Silurian,

e T u

421

B Foster r Livingston

c

l he Bluegrass Region is bounded by the Knobs and Ohio River. Bedrock in most of the region . a BOURBON k

25

68

n CLARK y d threaten valuable water resources. terrain. Using sinkholes for waste disposal, even in rural areas, can Inner Bluegrass —Sinkholes are a common feature of the Inner Bluegrass

W

460 Wood Creek N 1 LUEGRASS

9

0

o

BRACKEN River r

Lake

75 t

WHITLEY B h

ROBERTSON

Mount

Olivet

Laur e

+

e r

Augusta l t Brooksville

12 13 JACKSON T

. Along .

LAUREL R

R. 15 C

52

i o Corbin

25

v

London m

84

b NICHOLAS

e Carlisle Irvine 11 s r 30

°

MONTGOMERY Fork

McKee 84

ESTILL

MASON °

+

11 6 Palisades

21 Ravenna

421 POWELL

Sharpsburg Mount Sterling Mount

Clay City Clay 62

include the highest summit in Kentucky, 4,150 ft. ridges are the Black Mountains and the Log Mountains, which hogback ridges of Cumberland Mountain. Between these southeast, these same beds dip to the northwest and underlie to the southeast and form jagged hogback ridges. To the Mountain Overthrust Fault. The rocks on Pine Mountain dip The steep northwest face of linear ridges of Pine Mountain and Cumberland Mountain. the southeastern border of the region by the northeast-trending The sinuous pattern of ridges and ravines is interrupted along

Pine Mountain from Chained Rock on Pine Mountain Erosion-resistant sandstone conglomerate forms hogbacks region. flooding to development in stream valleys throughout the Cumberland River floodwaters also symbolizes the threat of floodwall to the right of U.S. 25E that protects city from stream valleys typical of the Upper Cumberland Valley. The 10 L

80 Dover

i

c

Camargo k

Manchester

Ewing

68 Stanton i

60 n

LEE

g Barbourville

R Middlesboro

+ Jeffersonville

BATH Owingsville 16

11

TENNESSEE

Beattyville R

OWSLEY 11

KNOX

11

Maysville Pineville

30

+ i

FLEMING v

EGION e

9

Flemingsburg r

CLAY

H OHIO

a Salt Lick Salt (above) . The view of Pineville in Bell County

l 11 R 10

11

(below) shows the rugged o

25 g

e Booneville E M South

Fork OHIO r 12

s o

421

WOLFE u

MENIFEE Frenchburg

n Subregion—

t

a Red

i BELL n

Pine Mountain exposes the P N

a 64

o r

r k

M R are quarried or mined throughout the region for use

the Greater Cincinnati area. may be a problem in development, particularly land is hilly, with limited agriculture. Slope stability Shale is more dominant in the Bluegrass Hills. The Bluegrass Hills—Shaly limestone groundwater, and there are fewer springs and wells. and rolling hills. The shales impede the flow of Bluegrass. It is less karstic, with fewer sinkholes more easily eroded than the limestones of the Inner bedded Ordovician limestones and shales that are The Outer Bluegrass is mostly composed of inter- Outer Bluegrass—limestone and shale springs, caves, and soils. stone also produces sinkholes, sinking streams, up along the Cincinnati Arch. Weathering of the lime- of the Ordovician strata of central Kentucky, pushed caused by the weathering of limestone that is typical oughbred horses. The gently rolling topography is phosphatic soils, which are perfect for raising thor- The Inner Bluegrass is characterized by rich, fertile Inner Bluegrass Region—limestone Campton

t w

Cave Run h

i i

d a

v

d y

ROWAN

e l Lake P e 52

VIRGINIA r

a R

Buckhorn F

r 19

k o

Buckhorn I r V w k 119

1

Lake

a Morehead

y E LEWIS R Dominant Rock Type 7

17

Loyall

Wallins

Jackson Creek

460

205

Vanceburg

Hyden hills and wide

Martins Fork

F

LESLIE o r 15 k

Lake

80 Harlan

BREATHITT

MORGAN

WestLiberty Hazard

10

PERRY

421 L

i

c ELLIOTT

k Hill Olive

HARLAN

i 13

n

g

R 9 Evarts

i T

MAGOFFIN 30 v

L GREENUP

Sandy Hook Sandy y

e it CARTER g r t E a 65 people per square mile. than 20 percent of the state’s population lives on the 28 percent of state encompassed by this region, or include pinnacles or "chimneys," shallow eaves known as "rock houses," and arches or natural bridges. Less level terrace deposits. Cliffs of resistant sandstone cap many ridges and spurs. Scenic erosion remnants sheet wash. Deeply weathered soils are uncommon and occur on isolated, nearly level ridge crests and high- fragments and weathered debris (colluvium) The mountain slopes underlain by shale and sandstone are mantled complex accumulations of rock topographic relief of this region spans as little 200 feet or exceeds 2,000 feet, the landforms are similar. or the valley bottoms are commonly of small extent. Most of the terrain is steep-sided hills. Whether local crests of the mountains are as narrow and sinuous valley bottoms. Flatlands on either ridgetops Ashland and southeastern Greenup County are remnants of earlier valley bottoms. Generally, the knife-edge more; most of the human habitation is on floodplains and low terraces. High terraces such as those in Cumberland, meander through the mountains. Where shale predominates, their valleys widen to a mile or bottoms that wind between steep valley walls. Major rivers, including the Big Sandy, Licking, Kentucky, and flat-lying sequences of coal-bearing sedimentary rocks. The ravines are tributary to sinuous, narrow valley crests extend to the horizon in all directions. The mountain slopes are carved by ravines eroded through thick, beds of Pennsylvanian sandstone overlying Mississippian limestone. Within the region, wooded mountain the western edge by Cumberland (or Pottsville) Escarpment/Mississippian Plateau formed resistant shale, and coal with Mississippian limestones along the western southern perimeter. It is bounded on

T le Salyersville Vicco rt

Paintsville

s 10

he Eastern Kentucky Coal Field is a region of intricately dissected Pennsylvanian sandstone, siltstone,

Cumberland Hindman ASTERN

Lake

7

KNOTT Shore Sa South ndy Blackey Creek

Greenbo

Grayson Lake 5 C

7

Greenup 83

Lake

Benham Grayson

° River

JOHNSON

80

460 15

OAL Prestonsburg

Carr Fork Lake

23

7

160

Wurtland Lynch

1

114 Whitesburg

40

LAWRENCE

60

Passes Pippa

FLOYD Raceland

LETCHER Flatwoods

Yatesville Blaine K

Lake

119 F

E

a

Paintsville s

Wayland Fleming-Neon t ENTUCKY Fork

9 Worthington IELD

8

Martin Wheelwright

37 L 3

23

BOYD Russell

e Allen

Jenkins

impedes underground flow and there are fewer sinkholes. is, in general, more rolling than that of the Inner Bluegrass. The shale along Ky. 646 in Montgomery County. The terrain of the Outer Bluegrass Shaly limestone typical of the Outer Bluegrass is exposed in a roadcut ° Dewey Lake sites. for agriculture, attractive sites rural residential living, habitat wildlife, and industrial The Outer Bluegrass v 64 Outer Bluegrass

i 19 21 s a L e Ashland Subregion

460

23 vis

a Louisa

burg Catletts-

3

F R Big

i v

e

ork r S

F 645 a n y d

shale, coal Sandstone, siltstone, Pine Mountain stone, shale, coal bottom —Sandstone, silt- Mountain and creek sandstone, siltstone, some coal Cumberland Plateau limestone Mississippian Plateau Cumberland Escarpment/ o

7

1 r

23

19 k

MARTIN

VIRGINIA

Inez WEST

40

Pikeville —Dominant Rock Type

that move downslope by Tug Elkhorn City Elkhorn

terrain, as typified in central Washington County, provides rich soils Warfield

38 Fishtrap Lake Fork

° —

460

PIKE

119 14

80 terrace deposits of clay Bluegrass Hils ancient stream. Bluegrass Hills region of southern Pendleton County by an —Shale, 36 —Sandstone, and development. ridgetops than provide limited level land for crops stock, as seen in Grant County rolling, knobby hills that provide pasture for live- terrain of the Bluegrass Hills is characterized by County. Cedar trees quickly reclaim a slope. The at this roadcut (below) on Ky. 53 in Washington Collapsed limestone rubble slips down the shale exposed, leaving the limestone without support. Bluegrass. The shale breaks down quickly when shale content than that of the Inner and Outer The bedrock of the Bluegrass Hills has a higher Bluegrass Hills 6 debris avalanche, landslide, creep, and —Rural residential development on high-level Cumberland Plateau Morgan County. agriculture, as typified below in rugged landscape amenable to Laurel County. This creates a less along the Hal Rogers Parkway in area, as seen in the roadcut bedrock of the Cumberland Plateau Shale is more dominant in the

82 , silt, sand, and gravel deposited in the

°

MAP AND CHART 187 CHART AND MAP (left) , and narrow

SERIES XII, 2008 XII, SERIES (left) 15