Foreword

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Overview

Water Use

Topography of the County

Geology of the County

Groundwater Availability

Exploration for Groundwater

Karst

Water Quality

Maps and Data

Additional Reading

References Cited

Definitions of Geologic Terms

Rock Descriptions

Discussion from McGrain and Currens (1978)

Meade County is in the Mississippian Plateaus Region of northern Kentucky. The Ohio River marks the northern boundary. The normal pool elevation of the river, 383 feet, is the lowest elevation in the county. Differences in elevation between the river and the adjacent uplands commonly approach or exceed 300 to 400 feet.

Most of Meade County is a karst (sinkhole) plain of low local relief. Sinkholes abound in this area, and surface streams are rare except close to the valley of the Ohio River. Elevations on the karst plain range from approximately 700 to 750 feet on the east to 600 to 650 feet on the west. The sinkhole topography is interrupted by an occasional hill or ridge that stands above the general plain level. Elevations slightly greater than 1,000 feet, the highest in Meade County, are found on Bee Knob Hill, an elongate northeast-southwest ridge on the karst plain 2.5 miles northwest of Flaherty.

Northwestern Meade County occupies part of a higher plateau. It is separated from the sinkhole area by the Dripping Springs Escarpment, an east-facing cuesta. Elevations at the edge of the escarpment are about 800 to 850 feet. The upper plateau surface declines approximately 100 feet to the western edge of the county. The surface is dissected by normal stream drainage, and karst features are rare except in valley bottoms. The valleys are narrow and deeply incised, commonly with local reliefs of 250 feet. The intervening ridges are generally flat topped. A large valley loop at Wolf Creek, carrying only minor drainage, is a conspicuous topographic feature. It was once a meander of the Ohio River, which has been abandoned. The "island" (meander core) in the center of the loop rises more than 300 feet above the encircling valley. At Brandenburg, the county seat, the elevation on the floodplain is 420 feet; elevation at the edge of the bluff is 550 feet. Other elevations are Battletown, 700 feet; Big Spring, at the junction of Meade, Hardin, and Breckinridge Counties, 680 feet; Flaherty, 793 feet; Garrett, 684 feet; Guston, 698 feet; Muldraugh, 720 feet; Paynesville, 816 feet; and Wolf Creek, 427 feet.

The 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps that cover Meade County are shown, by name and by index code (Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet) on the index map.

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