Understanding natural systems; a perspective for land-use planning in Appalachian Kentucky

Bulletin 1438
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Abstract

An eight-county area at the headwaters of the Kentucky River has been designated the Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD) by the Appalachian Regional Commission. The objective of the project described in this report has been to provide materials to KRADD planners in a format and containing terminology usable by local people untrained in earth science.

Experimental maps (not included in this report) have been prepared largely from preexisting data. Time and cost limitations required a regional analysis as well as somewhat more detailed examples of selected localities. Most of the maps produced to meet these needs show the abundance and distribution of naturally occurring materials and the areas affected by various geomorphic processes. Three types of maps, showing current land use, slope, and flood-prone areas, present both basic and derived data directly applicable to specific land-use decisions. Basic map information on quality and quantity of surface and ground water, bedrock and surficial geology, and mineral fuels can be interpreted for a wide variety of current and potential uses. Texts accompanying the maps explain bedrock control of geomorphic processes, distribution and significance of surficial deposits, and hydrologic characteristics of the intricately dissected eastern Kentucky terrain. Within this conceptual framework, geomorphic processes and the landscape may be evaluated in humanly significant terms of low to high potential risk, thereby indicating both opportunities and limitations for land use.

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Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Understanding natural systems; a perspective for land-use planning in Appalachian Kentucky
Series title Bulletin
Series number 1438
DOI 10.3133/b1438
Year Published 1978
Language English
Publisher U.S. Government Printing Office
Description iv, 50 p.
Country United States
State Kentucky
County Breathift County, Knott County, Lee County, Leslie County, Letcher County, Owsley County, Perry County, Wolfe County
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