Foreword

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Overview

Water Use

Topography of the County

Geology of the County

Groundwater Availability

Water Quality

Maps and Data

Additional Reading

References Cited

Definitions of Geologic Terms

Rock Descriptions

Discussion from McGrain and Currens (1978)

Fulton County, in the Mississippi Embayment Region, is the westernmost county in Kentucky. The Mississippi River forms its western and part of its northern boundaries. The lowest elevation in the county, and also the lowest elevation in the state, is approximately 260 feet, on the Mississippi River at the Kentucky-Tennessee state line. The floodplain is marked by ponds, sloughs, marshes, flood-scour scars, and occasional sand bars. The relief is low; elevations generally range between 285 and 300 feet.

The topography of the county varies from broad, flat floodplains along the river to a gently rolling upland behind the river bluffs. Local reliefs of 150 feet or more between the floodplain and the top of the bluffs between Hickman and the state line are common. The highest elevation in Fulton County is 500 feet, at the top of the bluff along Ky. 925 approximately 4 miles east-southeast of Bondurant.

Eastward in the county, upland elevations decline gradually to about 400 feet. A low flat ridge on a drainage divide paralleling U.S. 51 north of Fulton has elevations in excess of 450 feet, however; the highest elevation recorded on this ridge is 480 feet.

The elevation in Hickman, the county seat, is 475 feet on top of the bluffs and 305 feet on the floodplain. Other elevations are Bondurant, 288 feet; Cayce, 400 feet; Crutchfield, 368 feet; and Fulton, at the city hall, 372 feet.

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

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