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Research about Kentucky

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Kentucky.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
USGS1982

Mineral resource potential map of the Troublesome Roadless Area, McCreary County, Kentucky

A geologic and geochemical investigation and a survey of existing mines and prospects have been conducted to determine the mineral resource potential of the Troublesome Roadless Area, McCreary County, Ky. The study area comprises six tracts totaling about 2,943 acres in the Daniel Boone National Forest. It is in the Cumberland Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus Province. All surface and mineral rights are federally owned. Limestone and shale units of Mississippian age and overlying sandstone, shale, and coal beds of Pennsylvanian age comprise the bedrock exposed in the Troublesome Roadless Area. Coal, sandstone, and shale are the principal mineral resources in the study area. Coal has been mined near the roadless area from at least two coal beds. Available data indicate that coal reserves do not underlie the area. Coal resources totalling 7 4 7,000 short tons in the Stearns No. 1112 (?) coal bed and 166,000 short tons in the Barren Fork(?) coal bed are contained in the Troublesome Roadless Area. Possible uses for sandstone units include silica sand, construction sand, and dimension stone. Shale may be suitable for structural clay products. Commercial quantities of oil and gas may be present at shallow depth in rocks of Mississippian age. A stream-sediment geochemical survey failed to recognize anomalies that would suggest mineralization, and the metallic mineral potential of the study area appears limited.

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USGS1981

Geologic mapping of Kentucky: A history and evaluation of the Kentucky Geological Survey--U.S. Geological Survey Mapping Program, 1960-1978

In 1960, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Kentucky Geological Survey began a program to map the State geologically at a scale of 1:24,000 and to publish the maps as 707 U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Quadrangle Maps. Fieldwork was completed by the spring of 1977, and all maps were published by December 1978. Geologic mapping of the State was proposed by the Kentucky Society of Professional Engineers in 1959. Wallace W. Hagan, Director and State Geologist of the Kentucky Geological Survey, and Preston McGrain, Assistant State Geologist, promoted support for the proposal among organizations such as Chambers of Commerce, industrial associations, professional societies, and among members of the State government. It was also arranged for the U.S. Geological Survey to supply mapping personnel and to publish the maps; the cost would be shared equally by the two organizations. Members of the U.S. Geological Survey assigned to the program were organized as the Branch of Kentucky Geology. Branch headquarters, including an editorial staff, was at Lexington, Ky., but actual mapping was conducted from 18 field offices distributed throughout the State. The Publications Division of the U.S. Geological Survey established a cartographic office at Lexington to prepare the maps for publication. About 260 people, including more than 200 professionals, were assigned to the Branch of Kentucky Geology by the U.S. Geological Survey at one time or another. The most geologists assigned any one year was 61. To complete the mapping and ancillary studies, 661 professional man-years were required, compared with an original estimate of 600 man-years. A wide variety of field methods were used, but most geologists relied on the surveying altimeter to obtain elevations. Surface data were supplemented by drill-hole records, and several dozen shallow diamond-drill holes were drilled to aid the mapping. Geologists generally scribed their own maps, with a consequent saving of publication costs. Paleontologists and stratigraphers of the U.S. Geological Survey cooperated closely with the program. Paleontologic studies were concentrated in the Ordovician of central Kentucky, the Pennsylvanian of eastern and western Kentucky, and the Mesozoic and Cenozoic of westernmost Kentucky. In addition to financial support, the Kentucky Geological Survey provided economic data, stratigraphic support, and drillhole records to the field offices. Geologists of the State Survey made subsurface structural interpretations, constructed bedrock topography maps, and mapped several quadrangles. Some of the problems encountered were the inadequacy of much of the existing stratigraphic nomenclature, the uneven quality of some of the mapping, and the effects of relative isolation on the professional development of some of the geologists. The program cost a total of $20,927,500. In terms of 1960 dollars, it cost $16,035,000; this compares with an original estimate of $12,000,000. Although it is difficult to place a monetary value on the geologic mapping, the program has contributed to newly discovered mineral wealth, jobs, and money saved by government and industry. The maps are used widely in the exploration for coal, oil and gas, fluorspar, limestone, and clay. The maps are also used in planning highways and locations of dams, in evaluating foundation and excavation conditions, in preparing environmental impact statements, and in land-use planning.

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USGS1981

Geologic map of the Troublesome Roadless Area, McCreary County, Kentucky

The Troublesome Roadless Area is composed of six tracts of land and contains 2,943 acres (fig. 1). The largest tract of the study area, located 13 mi southwest of Stearns, Ky., is accessible from that town via State Route 92 to Hill Top, and . then southwestwatd along country roads. Unimproved Forest Service roads, abandoned logging roads, and primitive trails provide access by foot or horseback into the interior of each tract of the study area. Physiographically, the Troublesome Roadless Area is in the Cumberland Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus Province and is near the western edge of the Appalachian coal region. The topography is typical of the Cumberland Plateau section, characterized by irregular, narrow-crested ridges, deep narrow canyons, and a dendritic drainage pattern. Troublesome Creek, a small tributary of the South Fork of the Cumberland River, is the source of the area name (fig. 2). Altitudes range from about 1,600 ft on Laurel Ridge in the largest tract to approximately 800 ft along the South Fork of the Cumberland River. Field investigations by personnel of the U.S. Geological Survey consisted of reconnaissance geologic studies and data collecting, including the measurement of stratigraphic sections and the mapping of poorly exposed coal beds and resistant sandstone units. Additional subsurface information was obtained by studying and interpreting the logs of several coreholes drilled near the study area.

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USGS1981

Geologic map of the Beaver Creek Wilderness, McCreary County, Kentucky

The Beaver Creek Wilderness comprises approximately 4,800 acres and is principally within the cliffline bordering the Beaver Creek drainage basin in McCreary County, southeastern Kentucky. It is part of the Beaver Creek Cooperative Wildlife management Area in the Daniel Boone National Forest, which is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The wilderness is about 11 mi southeast of Burnside, Ky., and is accessible from thr north and south via U.S. Route 27 and Forest Service Road 50, at its northwest border (fig. 1). From the east the area can be reached via State Route 90 and Forest Service Road 46, at the eastern end of the wilderness. The interiors is accessible by foot along an abandoned Forest Service road and by several primitive trails that extend along the major streams. The Beaver Creek Wilderness is centrally located at the western edge of the Appalachian coal regions and is within the highly dissected Cumberland Plateau section of the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province (fig. 2). It is drained by Beaver Creek and tributaries, which flow northeastward into Cumberland Lake, a reservoir on the Cumberland River about 1 mi north of the wilderness. Altitudes range from about 730 ft on the lower part of Beaver Creek to about 1,200 ft at its headwaters.

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USGS1981

Drainage areas of streams at selected locations in Kentucky

Drainage areas are presented for most sites where streamflow data have been collected in Kentucky, as well as other selected locations throughout the State. Areas were planimetered on Geological Survey topographic quadrangle maps, and balanced to known areas taken from Smithsonian geographical tables for areas of quadrangles of the earth's surface. Stream sites are listed in downstream order starting at the headwaters. At sites where streamflow data have been collected, U.S. Geological Survey eight-digit numbers are shown. All sites are identified by reference to the topographic quadrangle, county, latitude, longitude, and in some cases a nearby town or landmark. All intervening areas in Kentucky along the Ohio River have been computed and are available in the District office even though some are not included in this report. An alphabetical index by stream name is provided.

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USGS1981

Water resources data for Kentucky, water year 1980

Water resources data for the 1980 water year for Kentucky consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage and contents of lakes; and water levels and water quality of wells and springs. This report contains discharge records from 116 gaging stations; stage and contents for 15 lakes; suspended-sediment data for 43 stations (28 daily); daily temperature records for 35 stations; daily specific con-ductance for 24 stations; ground-water level for 74 recording, 85 partial; water-quality data from 232 coal hydrology sites (28 partial, 204 miscellaneous) 3 springs and 311 wells; and miscellaneous temperature and specific conductance from the 116 gaging stations. Also included are data for 123 partial-record crest-stage and 102 partial-record low-flow sites. Data collected at various miscellaneous sites is also published. These data represents that part of the National Water Data System operated by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Kentucky.

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USGS1980

Correlation of coal beds, coal zones, and key stratigraphic units in the Pennsylvanian rocks of eastern Kentucky

The Pennsylvanian rocks of the eastern Kentucky coal field unlderlie an area of about 27,000 square kilometers (see index map). Largely because of the size and stratigraphic complexity of the area, Huddle and others (1963, p. 31) divided it into six coal reserve districts (unofficial), utilizing state and county lines as well as geologic features, drainage areas, and cola producing areas. This division is followed herein because, in general, each of these districts has a characteristic stratigraphic nomenclature, particularly as related to coal bed names. The six districts shown on the index mat, are the Princess, Licking River, Big Sandy, Hazard, Southwestern, and Upper Cumberland River; the Upper Cumberland River district has been divided into the Harlan and Middlesboro subdistricts.

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USGS1980

Flow duration at selected stream-sites in Kentucky

Flow duration characteristics were determined for 195 streamflow stations in Kentucky. The data includes flow duration tables for the period of record of the stations based on mean daily discharges. Seasonal flow durations are also presented from monthly analysis of the data. At sites affected by regulation, tables are published showing both the before and after regulation flow duration data. (USGS)

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USGS1980

Field survey of intensity for the earthquake of July 27, 1980, Sharpsburg, Kentucky

The magnitude 5.2 (mb) northern Kentucky earthquake of July 27, 1980, at 18:52:21.8 UTC, located at 38.17N, 83.91W with a depth of 8 km (as determined by the National Earthquake Information Service), was particularly notable for the widespread damage it did, especially to older chimneys. Investigators from several different organizations were in the field shortly after the earthquake recording aftershocks and checking intensities. The data from postal intensity surveys and field personnel are still coming in, and it will be some time before it is all evaluated and analyzed. This preliminary list of the results of our own field investigations is being produced now in order that the information we gathered may be combined with that of other researchers for analysis. Our investigation, conducted from July 28 to August 3, was designed to delineate the areal distribution of the intensities and to document the amount and type of damage in the epicentral region. Tentative intensities have been assigned to these reports and they have been plotted in figure 1. However, as more information becomes available from other investigators, some of these values may be changed and other locations may be added. Therefore no attempt has been made to contour the data. A maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VII was assigned to Maysville, Ky., approximately 50 km north of the epicenter, based on the concentrated chimney and other types of building damage there. Elsewhere, similar but scattered chimney damage has been assigned intensity VI.

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USGS1980

Chloroform contamination in part of the alluvial aquifer, Southwest Louisville, Kentucky

A well in the Ohio River alluvium at Louisville, Ky., has been yielding water with chloroform concentrations as high as 34.80 milligrams per liter since July 1975. A spill of 5,000 gallons of chloroform in 1970, 120 feet from the well, is probably the source of the contamination. The chloroform is adsorbed in the unsaturated zone in the alluvium; the greatest concentrations are presently at and slightly above the water table. Lesser amounts of carbon tetrachloride are found with the chloroform. Its source is unknown. The two contaminants were above the water table in the alluvium until a long-term trend of rising ground-water levels caused water to reach the contaminants and the water-chloroform mixture began moving downgradient to the well. High river stages cause a seasonal cycle of water-level rise, generally in late spring and midsummer; the ground water comes in contact with more chloroform and the chloroform concentration of the well water increases. No carbon tetrachloride has been observed in the well water.

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USGS1980

Selected chemical quality characteristics in streams of Kentucky, 1970-1975

Generalized maps of average dissolved solids, hardness and nitrate concentrations of water in streams throughout Kentucky were prepared from data collected at more than 100 sites from 1970 to 1975. Average dissolved solids concentrations seldom exceed 250 milligrams per liter. Hardness, mostly of calcium magnesium origin, generally ranges from 60 to 180 milligrams per liter. Average nitrate concentrations exceed 2 milligrams per liter at most of the sites. (USGS)

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USGS1979

Seismicity map of the State of Kentucky

The earthquake data shown on this map and listed in table 1 are a list of earthquakes that were originally used in preparing the Seismic kisk Studies in the United States (Algermissen, 1969) which have been recompiled and updated through 1977. The data have been reexamined and intensities assigned where none had been assigned before, on the basis of available data. Other intensity values were updated from new and additional data sources that were not available at the time of original compilation. Some epicenters were relocated on the basis of new information. The data shown in table 1 are estimates of the most accurate epicenter, magnitude, and intensity of each earthquake, on the basis of historical and current information. Some of the aftershocks from large earthquakes are listed but are incomplete in many instances, especially for ones that occurred before seismic instruments were in universal usage.

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