125—Cumberland Plateau and Mountains

This MLRA (shown in red in the figure above) is in Kentucky (43 percent), Tennessee (25 percent), West Virginia (20 percent), Virginia (9 percent), and Alabama (3 percent). It makes up about 20,330 square miles (52,685 square kilometers). The towns of Logan, Madison, Welch, and Williamson, West Virginia, and Norton and Wise, Virginia, are in the northeastern part of this area. The towns of Middlesboro, Williamsburg, Corbin, London, Hazard, and Pikeville, Kentucky, and La Follette and Crossville, Tennessee, are in the area. Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama, are just outside the southeast and southwest corners, respectively. Interstates 24, 64/77, 75, and 40/75 cross this area. The Cumberland Gap National Historic Park is in the part of this area along the Virginia and Kentucky border. The Daniel Boone and Jefferson National Forests occur in this area. Numerous State forests and parks are throughout the area.

Physiography

The northern third of this area is primarily in the Kanawha Section of the Appalachian Plateaus Province of the Appalachian Highlands. The southern two-thirds is primarily in the Cumberland Plateau Section of the same province and division. A strip along the central part of the east edge of the area is in the Cumberland Mountain Section of the same province and division, and small areas of the MLRA along the southwestern edge are in the Highland Rim Section of the Interior Low Plateaus Province of the Interior Plains. This highly dissected MLRA occurs mainly as a series of long, steep side slopes between narrow ridgetops or crests and narrow stream flood plains. Elevation ranges from 650 feet (200 meters) on the flood plain along the Ohio River to about 980 feet (300 meters) on nearby ridgetops. It gradually rises from these areas to areas near the Virginia-Kentucky border, where it is about 1,650 feet (505 meters) on local flood plains and 3,950 feet (1,205 meters) on the higher mountains.

The extent of the major Hydrologic Unit Areas (identified by four-digit numbers) that make up this MLRA is as follows: Cumberland (0513), 30 percent; Big Sandy-Guyandotte (507), 24 percent; Kentucky-Licking (0510), 19 percent; Upper Tennessee (0601), 10 percent; Kanawha (0505), 8 percent; Middle Tennessee-Elk (0603), 5 percent; Middle Tennessee-Hiwassee (0602), 3 percent; and Middle Ohio (0509), 1 percent. The Kanawha River is the largest river in the part of this area in West Virginia. The Tug Fork and Big Sandy Rivers form the State boundary between West Virginia and Kentucky. The Clinch River forms the southwestern boundary of the part of this area in Virginia. The headwaters of the Licking, Kentucky, and Cumberland Rivers are in the part in Kentucky. The New, Obey, Obed, Caney Fork, and Collins Rivers are in the part in Tennessee. The Tennessee River is in the part in Alabama. A number of National Wild and Scenic Rivers are in the parts of this area in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Geology

Cyclic beds of sandstone, siltstone, clay, shale, and coal of Pennsylvanian age form the bedrock in most of this area. Pennsylvanian limestone and dolomite bedrock is in the part of the area in Virginia and Alabama. Coal mining is the major industry in this MLRA. Unconsolidated deposits of silt, sand, and gravel are in the major river valleys and on terraces along these rivers. The lower parts of many hillslopes have a thin layer of colluvium.

Climate

The average annual precipitation is mostly 37 to 45 inches (940 to 1,145 millimeters) in the northern third of this area and 45 to 60 inches (1,145 to 1,525 millimeters) in the southern two-thirds. It is almost 60 inches (1,525 millimeters) at the higher elevations in the northern third of the area and is as much as 75 inches (1,905 millimeters) in the mountains in the southern two-thirds. Almost half of the annual precipitation falls during the growing season. Rainfall typically occurs during high-intensity, convective thunderstorms in summer. Snow may occur during winter in the northern part of the area and at the higher elevations. The average annual temperature is 50 to 60 degrees F (10 to 15 degrees C). The freeze-free period averages 200 days and ranges from 170 to 225 days. The shorter freeze-free periods are at the higher elevations and in the more northerly parts of the area.

Water

Following are the estimated withdrawals of freshwater by use in this MLRA:

Public supply—surface water, 3.7%; ground water, 0.9%
Livestock—surface water, 0.3%; ground water, 0.3%
Irrigation—surface water, 0.0%; ground water, 0.0%
Other—surface water, 85.2%; ground water, 9.6%

The total withdrawals average 1,685 million gallons per day (6,375 million liters per day). About 11 percent is from ground water sources, and 89 percent is from surface water sources. Water is abundant in most of the area. In most years precipitation is adequate for crops, but in some years yields are reduced by drought. The large streams and constructed lakes supply most of the urban water. Farm ponds can be sources of water in rural communities. The water generally is suitable for all uses, although some sedimentation problems in surface-mined areas and local acid mine drainage cause problems in northern Tennessee and in Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. The carbonate rocks in Virginia buffer the acid mine drainage, so this drainage is not a water-quality issue in Virginia.

Large quantities of generally good-quality ground water are available in some of the larger river valleys in this area, but only small quantities are locally available in the rest of the area. Water in the valley of the Kanawha River has levels of iron and manganese that exceed the national standards for drinking water. The Pennsylvanian Sandstone aquifer is the primary bedrock aquifer in this area. This aquifer is called the Appalachian Plateau aquifer in Virginia and the Middle and Lower Pennsylvanian aquifer in West Virginia. Water is in the bedding planes, joints, and fractures in the sandstone, siltstone, shale, and coalbeds. In Alabama and along the Alabama-Tennessee border, the Paleozoic Carbonate aquifer is a source of ground water. Water is in solution openings and caverns in this limestone and dolomite aquifer.

The ground water in both aquifers is suitable for all uses. High iron concentrations occur in water from the coal-bearing units. The level of total dissolved solids, however, is very low because of the shallow depth of wells and their location near the recharge zones for these aquifers. Wells more than 250 to 300 feet (60 to 90 meters) deep provide salty water. The water from the sandstone is soft, but the water from the carbonate and shale layers is hard. Some communities in Alabama and southern Tennessee use both of these aquifers for their water supply. In the rest of this area, the Pennsylvanian Sandstone aquifer provides domestic and livestock water. Contamination from septic systems located too close to domestic wells is one of the most common water-quality problems in this area.

Soils

Most of the soils in the undulating to rolling areas on the Cumberland Plateau are Hapludults. Moderately deep or deep, well drained, loamy Hapludults (Lily, Lonewood, and Hartsells series) formed in sandstone residuum. Shallow, somewhat excessively drained, loamy Dystrudepts (Ramsey series) also formed in sandstone residuum. They are less extensive than the other soils in the undulating to rolling areas on the Cumberland Plateau. Most of the remaining soils in the undulating to rolling areas are deep or very deep, moderately well drained, loamy Hapludults (Clarkrange and Hendon series), which formed in a loamy mantle and sandstone residuum. The dominant soils in hilly to steep areas are Hapludults (Gilpin and Lily series) and Dystrudepts (Petros and Matewan series). They are shallow to moderately deep, well drained or somewhat excessively drained, and loamy and formed in sandstone or shale residuum. The remaining soils on steep slopes generally are deep or very deep, well drained, loamy Hapludults (Bouldin, Grimsley, Jefferson, Pineville, and Shelocta series) and Dystrudepts (Varilla, Highsplint, and Guyandotte series), which formed in gravelly or stony colluvium derived from sandstone and/or shale.

Soils on flood plains are of small extent on the Cumberland Plateau and are slightly more extensive in the Cumberland Mountains. Most of these soils are well drained or moderately well drained Dystrudepts (Ealy, Pope, Philo, and Sewanee series) or Eutrudepts (Grigsby, Sensabaugh, and Chagrin series) or poorly drained Endoaquepts (Bonair and Atkins series). They are deep or very deep, are loamy, and formed in alluvium derived from sandstone and shale.

Material derived from surface and deep mines is common in this area. Udorthents (Bethesda, Cedarcreek, Fairpoint, and Kaymine series) formed in this material.

Biological Resources

This area supports a variety of woody and herbaceous plant communities. Mixed hardwoods are in coves and on north- and east-facing slopes. Yellow-poplar, beech, black walnut, basswood, red oak, white oak, hemlock, and buckeye are among the 20 or more tree species. Oak-hickory communities, shortleaf pine, pitch pine, and Virginia pine are on ridges and on south- and west-facing slopes. Willows, sycamore, sweetgum, and river birch grow on flood plains.

Some of the major wildlife species in this area are white-tailed deer, red fox, raccoon, cottontail, muskrat, gray squirrel, fox squirrel, mink, ruffed grouse, woodcock, bobwhite quail, and mourning dove.

Land Use

Following are the various kinds of land use in this MLRA:

Cropland—private, 3%
Grassland—private, 10%; Federal, 1%
Forest—private, 73%; Federal, 5%
Urban development—private, 5%
Water—private, 1%
Other—private, 2%

Most of this area consists of small and medium-size farms. An extensive acreage in Kentucky is in the Daniel Boone National Forest, and some large tracts are owned by coal and timber companies. The forested areas support mostly mixed hardwoods. Lumber is an important product. Corn, hay, and tobacco are the major crops grown on the small acreage of cropland in the area. More than one-tenth of the area is pasture, which is used mostly for grazing by beef cattle. Some areas are used for urban development. Stabilizing surface-mined areas is a major management concern.

The major soil resource concerns are water erosion, deposition of sediment, depletion of organic matter, surface compaction, and soil contaminants. Conservation practices on cropland generally include systems of crop residue management, especially no-till systems; cover crops; and nutrient management. The most important conservation practice on pasture is prescribed grazing. Forest management practices generally include planting and harvesting methods that minimize disturbance of the surface and minimize surface compaction.

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