Researcher ORCID Identifier
Swallom, M: Meredith Swallom (0000-0002-1400-6919) - ORCID
Massey, M: Matthew Massey (0000-0003-3316-9550) - ORCID
Hodelka, B: Bailee Hodelka (0009-0003-4241-2417) - ORCID
Morris, E: Emily Morris (0000-0002-3310-3175) - ORCID
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Abstract
The Bowling Green North 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in Warren County immediately north of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Regionally, the quadrangle includes parts of the Pennyroyal and Mammoth Cave plateau, both within the Mississippian Plateaus physiographic region (McDowell, 1986). The Dripping Springs escarpment, which separates the lower-elevation Pennyroyal from the higher-elevation Mammoth Cave plateau is highly dissected in the quadrangle. Topography in the Pennyroyal is characterized by pervasive sinkhole development across the low-relief Pennyroyal, which is mostly underlain by the Mississippian St. Louis Limestone, Ste. Genevieve Limestone, and Girkin Formation (Shawe, 1963). Higher-relief topography is restricted to the slopes of the Dripping Springs escarpment that is dominantly underlain by Mississippian Gerkin Formation (Shawe, 1963). The upper Mammoth Cave plateau is characterized by topographic knobs capped by resistant Big Clifty Sandstone and Haney Limestone Members of the Golconda Formation (Shawe, 1963). The youngest rocks are exposed north of a series of east-west-trending vertical faults along the northern margin of the quadrangle, including the Hardinsburg Sandstone, Glen Dean Limestone, and Leitchfield Formation (Shawe, 1963).
Publication Date
2023
Series
13
Report Number
55
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
kgs13cr552023
Spatial Coverage
Bowling Green North Quadrangle
Funding Information
This map was generated using new field mapping along with compilation of unpublished and previously published data, and was funded in part by the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Cooperative Mapping Program under the STATEMAP program authorized by the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, Grant No. G22AC00570, and by the Kentucky Geological Survey.
Language
English
Repository Citation
Swallom, M., Massey, M.A., Buchanan, W., Hodelka, B., Hayes, H., Wells, C., and Morris, E., 2023, Surficial Geologic Map of the Bowling Green North 7.5-Minute Quadrangle, Warren County, Kentucky, Kentucky Geological Survey, ser. 13, Contract Report 55
Methodology
This map was generated by compiling multiple datasets with standard geologic field mapping techniques and sediment analysis. The datasets include the KYFromAbove statewide lidar dataset (5-ft average horizontal spacing) and its accompanying aerial imagery, as well as Kentucky Geological Survey map services that compile data from water-well logs and oil and gas records. Natural hazard assessments include data from a landslide mapping inventory (Crawford, 2014), and an algorithm for identifying sinkholes (Zhu and Pierskalla, 2016). Previous publications, including Shawe’s 1963 bedrock geologic map, the Natural Resources Conservation Services soil map (2018), and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet geotechnical reports were also used as sources for spatial and lithologic data. Colluvium was mapped using raster analysis to identify slopes exceeding 12° (a threshold determined by field and geotechnical evidence). Grain-size analysis was performed on sediment fractions of less than 2 mm with a laser particle analyzer; results were interpreted using methods discussed in Folk (1966), and grain size is reported using the modified Wentworth scale. Samples representative of major map units were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence and X-ray diffraction for bulk chemistry and mineralogy, respectively. Detailed data and additional information are available in an accompanying GIS dataset publication (Massey et al., 2023).