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)

Casey County is located in the Mississippian Plateaus area of south-central Kentucky. It is a well-dissected upland area with rather broad valleys and numerous long, flat-topped ridges. Elevations of the flat ridgetops are commonly about 1,100 feet in the north-central, central, and southern parts of the county. In the extreme northern part of the county, individual knobs and nearly flat ridges may have elevations ranging between 1,300 and 1,400 feet. Chicken Gizzard Ridge, for example, is 10 miles long and has elevations between 1,000 and 1,260 feet.

The highest elevations are in the southeastern part of the county, where a number of isolated knobs and hills rise abruptly above the plateau. The highest of these knobs, and the highest point in the county, is sandstone-capped Green River Knob, with an elevation of 1,789 feet, located near the Casey-Pulaski County line. Other high knobs in that area include Dye Knob, 1,537 feet; Rocky Knob, 1,523 feet; and Sand Knob, 1,565 feet. These high knobs are close to the drainage boundary between the Green and Cumberland Rivers.

The Green River and its tributaries drain most of Casey County. This stream crosses the county from east to west. The floodplain has an elevation of 860 feet on the east and 720 feet on the west. Broad flats occur along this valley and some of its larger tributaries. The lowest elevation in the county is 710 feet where the Green River leaves the county. The flood pool of Green River Lake, elevation 713 feet, barely reaches Casey County. (The normal pool level of Green River Lake is 675 feet.)

The northern part of the county is drained by tributaries of Rolling Fork. Normal stream drainage has so dissected the upland area that the Muldraugh Escarpment (Highland Rim) in this part of Kentucky has essentially lost its identity, and instead of presenting a single cuesta is a mass of irregular knobs and ridges rising 400 feet or so above the larger valleys.

Slopes throughout the county are steep, but there is rarely an unscalable bluff. Local reliefs of 200 to 250 feet are common over much of the county, but may exceed 300 to 400 feet in the extreme northern area and near the high knobs in the southeast. The difference in the elevations between the top of Green River Knob and a tributary of Turkey Creek just 1/2 mile away is 820 feet.

The elevation at Clementsville is 771 feet; Dunnville, 750 feet; Liberty, at the courthouse, 816 feet; Middleburg, 840 feet; Mintonville, 1,200 feet; and Yosemite, 836 feet.

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

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