KGS Home > Geology of Kentucky

The following are virtual field trips and published geology field guides. Included in each is a map of the field-trip area, a discussion of the general geology of the area, and pertinent references that can be used to help explain the geology of the trail route or road. Field trip guidebooks were written for official field trips of geological associations in Kentucky. They are intended for audiences with a geologic background. Virtual field trips are intended for the general public. Some of the virtual field trips are keyed to trail maps. Others are photo albums of sites visited during one of the official field trips. Virtual field trips can be used to visit parts of the state you are unable to visit, or can be used as a trip planner, to help teachers and trip leaders better explain the geology that can be seen, when they make the trip themselves. In addition to the field trips and guidebooks listed below, geologic field guides and charts for Kentucky's interstate and major state highways, which were not part of official geologic field trips but which explain the geology of rocks seen in roadcuts along the roads, can be seen at Roadside geology.

	Virtual Trip	Field Trip Guide Book
The 1998 Pound Gap Field Trip
Natural Bridge State Park area, Powell County
Geology of the Red River Gorge Geological Area and Natural Bridge State Park, AIPG field trip, 2005
History and geology of the Natural Bridge-Red River Gorge area, AIPG field trip, 2010
Fort Payne geology in Lake Cumberland region (and Tennessee)		Link to Guide Book
Geology of Breaks Interstate Park, AIPG field trip, 2006	N/A
Geology and the Civil War in Central Kentucky: Camp Nelson, AIPG 2005	N/A
Silurian and Devonian Geology and Paleontology at the Falls of the Ohio, Kentucky/Indiana, AIPG 2005	N/A
Geology of the Red River Gorge Geological Area and Natural Bridge State Resort Park, AIPG 2005	N/A
Karst Geomorphology and Environmental Concerns of the Mammoth Cave Region, Kentucky, AIPG 2005	N/A
The Jeptha Knob Cryptoexplosive Structure, Shelby County, Kentucky, and Buffalo Trace Distillery, Franklin County, Kentucky, AIPG 2005	N/A
Geomorphology and Quaternary Geology of the Lower Ohio River Valley: Mapping and Applications. 2006		pdf
The Bighill Exposure and a Little Beyond. Year.  2004.  (Mississippian Borden Fm, eastern KY. )		[pdf, 5.9Mb]
Geologic Impacts on the History and Development of Middlesboro, Kentucky. 2003		[pdf ]
Historic Oil Fields of Eastern Kentucky. 2001		pdf
Economic and Engineering Geology of the Jackson Purchase Area, Kentucky. 2000		pdf
Geomorphology and environmental problems of the central Kentucky karst. 1994		[pdf]
Some stratigraphic and structural features of the Middlesboro Basin. 1957		[pdf]
Guide to some Pennsylvanian sections in Morgan, Magoffin, and Breathitt Counties, Kentucky. 1953		[pdf, 2.9M]
Guide to the Geology of The Raven Run Nature Sanctuary, 1985