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Discussion from McGrain and Currens (1978) Breathitt County is located in the highly dissected Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. The topography is typical of this part of Appalachia. Practically the only flat areas are narrow strips along the valleys of some of the major streams. The sinuous, irregular ridges appear to occupy the same amount of territory as the deep, V-shaped valleys. The Middle and North Forks of the Kentucky River are the principal drainage systems in the county. The lowest elevations are found along these streams. Both streams depart the county at elevations of approximately 650 feet. The Middle and North Forks of the Kentucky River occupy deeply entrenched meandering valleys with broad bends or loops, occasionally almost closing. A man-made oxbow lake has been created at Jackson, the county seat, where the narrow neck of a meander bend on the North Fork has been cut through to relieve periodic flooding. Ridgetops and mountaintops range in elevation from 1,000 to 1,300 feet in the northwest and 1,400 to 1,600 feet in the southeast. For the most part, the highest elevations in Breathitt County are along or near the divides between the drainage basins of the Middle and North Forks of the Kentucky River and between the North Fork of the Kentucky River and Licking River, where elevations of 1,600 feet, the highest recorded in the county, occur in several places. Local reliefs in excess of 500 feet are common. The elevation of the North Fork of the Kentucky River at Jackson is
about 700 feet. The elevation in Jackson, opposite the courthouse, is
787 feet; Picnic Hill is 920 feet; High Knob, immediately west of Jackson,
is 1,400 feet. Elevation of other communities in the county, also located
in valley bottoms, are Evanston, 929 feet; Haddix, 760 feet; and Quicksand,
780 feet. The 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle maps that cover Breathitt County are shown, by name and by index code (Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet) on the index map. Previous--Next--Back to "Groundwater Resources in Kentucky"
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