USGS Science⌕ Search

Geology topics

Research about Kentucky

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Kentucky.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
USGS1978

Geologic names of Ordovician rock-stratigraphic units exposed in Kentucky

This report summarizes and indexes the current usage of geologic names of exposed rock-stratigraphic units of Ordovician age in Kentucky. The Ordovician rocks crop out mainly in two separate areas in Kentucky (fig. 1). The larger area of outcrop, covering much of the middle part of the state, forms the major part of the Blue Grass region of Kentucky. Outcrops of this region are contiguous with outcrops of Ordovician rocks in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana. The smaller area of fairly continuous outcrops of Ordovician rocks lies south of the Blue Grass region along the Cumberland River and its tributaries. These outcrops are contiguous with outcrops of Ordovician rocks in Tennessee. A few isolated exposures of Ordovician rocks lie outside the areas of continuous outcrop.

Kentucky↗
USGS1978

Potentiometric surface of the Mississippian aquifer in parts of Trigg, Lyon, Caldwell, and Christian Counties, Mississippian Plateau region, Kentucky

Ground-water levels in a 600 square mile area of the Cumberland River drainage basin in parts of Trigg, Lyon Caldwell, and Christian Counties, Mississippian Plateau Region, Kentucky are shown by means of contours on the potentiometric surface. Generaly, ground water moves toward and with the surface drainage to Lake Barkley and the Cumberland River. The potentiometric map indicates a minimum drilling depth to water. The bedrock is composed largely of sandstone, cavernous limestone, or jointed and fractured limestone. All of these rock types yield sufficient water for domestic and stock purposes. The cavernous limestone is extremely vulnerable to pollution.

Kentucky↗
USGS1978

Structural control of the Cumberland River and its ancestral channels at Flat Lick, Kentucky

Remnants of old alluvium on bedrock benches, as much as 76 in (250 ft) above the present course of the Cumberland River near Flat Lick, Ky., are associated with meander scars and broad valleys now occupied by underflt streams. The distribution of old alluvium and associated topographic features define two ancestral channels of the Cumberland River. The ancestral channels and the present river channel are superimposed on the crest and flanks of the Flat Lick anticline. All three channels trend westward, roughly parallel to the axis of the anticline. The oldest channel is on the north flank, the second oldest channel is superimposed on the crest, and the modern channel is entrenched in the south-dipping limb of the fold. The sequential pattern of channel downcutting and migration across the crest of the anticline can be explained in terms of structural and lithologic constraints upon fluvial processes without recourse to contemporaneous tectonism. The Flat Lick area apparently has not experienced major deformation during the erosional history interpreted from the surficial geology. Direct evidence for the age of the old alluvium has not been found. However, an estimate based on erosion rates suggests that the ancestral channels could have been established and abandoned as recently as one-half million years ago.

Kentucky↗
USGS1977

Ground-water resources of the Lexington, Kentucky, area

Ground water in the Lexington, Kentucky, area occurs in Ordovician Limestones in which cavity development is generally limited to about 100 feet below land surface. Some wells produce about 300 gallons per minute in some of the large stream valleys , about 50 gallons per minute in the rolling upland and small stream valleys, and about 5 gallons per minute on hilltops and steep slopes. Many wells throughout the area do not furnish adequate water for domestic supplies because no significant water-bearing openings are penetrated during drilling. Ground-water use is limited mostly to domestic and stock supplies and a few small public supplies. Ground water is generally a calcium bicarbonate type and in places contains sodium chloride and (or) hydrogen sulfide. Bacterial pollution of ground water is widespread because of direct recharge of polluted runoff and streamflow to cavernous limestones. (Woodard-USGS)

Kentucky↗
USGS1977

Theoretical drawdown due to simulated pumpage from the Ohio River alluvial aquifer near Siloam, Kentucky

Theoretical drawdown due to simulated pumpage was determined for a site near Siloam, Kentucky by using a digital ground-water-flow model. The maximum sustained yield of water from the single well was shown to be less than 900 gallons per minute, and, for a simulated pumping rate of 450 gallons per minute from each of several wells, the optimum placement for either minimum water-level drawdown or minimum spacing of multiple wells was found to be in a line parallel to and at a distance of about 370 to 600 feet from the Ohio River. An analytical method was used to verify the optimum placement of wells determined by the digital model. (Woodard-USGS)

Kentucky↗
USGS1977

Rising ground-water level in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, 1972-1977

Ground-water levels in the alluvial aquifer in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, are rising at a rate which could cause wet basements and possible structural damage tc buildings in the downtown area by 1982. The predicted water level for 1982 is based on the nearly linear increase which has been observed from 1972 to 1977, during which period a rise of as much as 32 feet was recorded in water-level observation wells. Foremost among the possible causes of the rise is a decrease in withdrawal of ground water.

Kentucky↗
USGS1976

Hydrology of the Princeton area, Kentucky

The Princeton area comprises about 155 square miles in western Kentucky and includes parts of Caldwell, Crittenden, and Lyon Counties. The area is in the Mississippi Plateau region of Kentucky and lies within the drainage basin of the Cumberland River and Tradewater River basins. In 1974 municipal water-supply systems utilized about 1,115,000 gal of water per day from Barkley Lake. This use is expected to nearly double by the year 2000. Rural water supplies are obtained primarily from three geologic units - the Ste. Genevieve Limestone and the upper and lower members of the St. Louis Limestone. All three units can yield sufficient water for domestic and stock purposes , but the Ste. Genevieve at Princeton has yielded as much as 150 gal/min to individual wells. The chemical quality of both surface and ground water is generally good, except that the basal part of the lower member of the St. Louis Limestone may yield water high in sulfate and hydrogen sulfide. (Woodard-USGS)

Kentucky↗
USGS1976

Technique for estimating magnitude and frequency of floods in Kentucky

This report presents flood magnitude and frequency relations applicable to unregulated streams in Kentucky. The relations are based on flood data at 117 gaging stations in Kentucky and 14 in adjacent states having 10 or more years of record not significantly affected by man-made changes. Equations that relate flood magnitude and frequency to contributing drainage area in 16 geographic areas may be used to estimate magnitude of future floods with recurrence intervals of as much as 100 years on gaged and ungaged streams having drainage areas of 10 to 4,300 square miles (25 .9 to 11,100 square kilometers) . Estimating equations are also presented in graphical form for the convenience of the user. Additional graphs are presented to estimate flood magnitude for selected recurrence intervals along the Cumberland, Kentucky, and Ohio Rivers.

Kentucky↗