A well-defined paleochannel cuts through the Springfield (Mulford, W. Ky. No. 9) coal bed in parts of Henderson and Webster Counties in the Western Kentucky Coal Field. The channel is 1,500 to 3,000 feet wide and more than 150 feet thick along its axis, which is oriented in a north-south direction. The channel is filled with a thick sandstone, which truncates to a depth of at least 50 feet beneath the Springfield coal (Beard and Williamson, 1979). The channel continues north into Indiana. In Kentucky, it can be traced southward for 17 miles to the Rough Creek Fault System. South of the faults, in Webster County, the channel changes direction to an east-west strike, subparallel to faulting (Beard and Williamson, 1979; Greb and Williams, 2000). The Henderson channel is not part of the Galatia channel, which cuts the Springfield coal in parts of southern Indiana and Illinois for more than 130 miles (Hopkins and others, 1969).

Thickness map of the Springfield (W. Ky. No. 9) coal in western Kentucky, showing the location of the Henderson paleochannel (black arrows). The channel changes orientation south of the Rough Creek Fault System.
Thickness map of the Springfield (W. Ky. No. 9) coal in western Kentucky, showing the location of the Henderson paleochannel (black arrows). The channel changes orientation south of the Rough Creek Fault System.

 

 

 

 

 

Last Modified on 2023-01-05
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