Groundwater Resources of Greenup County, Kentucky

Topography

Discussion from McGrain and Currens (1978)

Greenup County is a well-dissected upland area in northeastern Kentucky. Except for a few scattered ridgetops near the western boundary and in the Flatwoods area of northeastern Greenup County, the only flat land is found along the valleys of the Ohio and Little Sandy Rivers and Tygarts Creek.

Elevations are generally highest in the western part of the county and decline to the east. Elevations along the Greenup-Lewis County line, which is the divide between the drainage basins of Tygarts and Kinniconick Creeks, commonly exceed 1,100 feet. The highest point on this divide, and the highest point in the county, is 1,200 feet at the junction of Greenup, Lewis, and Carter Counties. Ridgetop elevations in the eastern part of the county are generally between 800 and 900 feet.

The lowest point is 485 feet, the normal pool level of the Ohio River where it leaves the county. Valley flats along the river are variable in width. Terraces are recognizable along some stretches of the river, and the elevations of the floodplain range from 520 to 560 feet. Differences in
elevations between the river and the adjacent upland commonly exceed 300 feet.

The elevation of Greenup, the county seat, is 536 feet. Other elevations are Argillite, on Little Sandy River, 545 feet; Bellefonte, 671 feet; Flatwoods, at the junction of Ky. 207 and 750, 689 feet; Russell, on the railroad, 550 feet, and at the high school, 670 feet; South Portsmouth, 550 feet; South Shore, 542 feet; Worthington, 550 feet; and Wurtland, 549 feet.

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

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