Groundwater Resources of Bullitt County, Kentucky

Topography

Discussion from McGrain and Currens (1978)

Bullitt County, located in northern Kentucky immediately south of the Louisville area, has a diverse topography. The extreme eastern tip of the county is in the rolling hills of the Outer Bluegrass Region. The western part of the county is in the area of rugged topography of the Knobs and dissected upland behind Muldraugh Hill (Highland Rim escarpment). Between these eastern and western parts of the county is a region containing some broad flat areas -- an upland plain developed on resistant rocks and wide alluviated valleys carved from soft rocks.

Elevations generally decrease from about 700 feet in the eastern part of the county to 500 feet at the edge of the Knobs region and upland escarpment. The lowest elevations in the county are in the valleys of Rolling Fork and the Salt River, which form the western boundary of Bullitt County. The elevation of the Salt River where it leaves the northwestern corner of the county is about 385 feet. Broad, alluviated flats adjacent to the lower reaches of the Salt River are approximately 450 feet in elevation.

Muldraugh Hill, an east-facing cuesta, and the isolated round hills or knobs carved from this upland are the most conspicuous topographic features of Bullitt County and contain both the highest elevations and the sites of greatest local relief. Slopes are steep, but cliffs are rare. Individual knobs may rise 400 feet or more above the valleys of Rolling Fork and Salt River. The highest elevation in the county is 998 feet, the top of a knob some 3 1/2 miles northeast of Lebanon Junction. Elevations of some other knobs are Buttonmold Knob, 804 feet; Dawson Knob, 980 feet; Phelps Knob, 789 feet; and the knob on which the lookout tower in Bernheim Forest is located, 921 feet. Precise elevations have been determined for many more peaks, and this information can be obtained from individual topographic maps.

The hills and ridges at the eastern edge of Muldraugh Hill may attain elevations in excess of 900 feet. Two points adjacent to Brooks Hill have elevations of 912 and 917 feet, some 400 feet above the lowland immediately to the east. This upland area decreases in elevation toward the western border of the county where ridgetops are generally 700 to 750 feet in elevation, approximately 300 feet above the floodplain of the Ohio River.

The elevation of Shepherdsville, at the courthouse, is 449 feet. Other elevations of interest include Belmont, 456 feet; Brooks, 515 feet; Clermont, 478 feet; Lebanon Junction, 454 feet; Mount Washington, 688 feet; and the entrance to Bernheim Forest, approximately 500 feet.

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

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