Geography & drainage
Watersheds & Maps
Every map in this portal is centered on Somerset Community College at 808 Monticello Street, Somerset. From there, explore Allen Branch and the land around it using public map services from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Kentucky Geological Survey and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Layers are requested live from each provider, so nothing is copied or redrawn here — and every layer states who made it, when, at what resolution, and what it cannot show.
The interactive map needs JavaScript. All mapped facts about Allen Branch are listed in the site profile table, and the layer sources are listed below.
Keyboard: focus the map, then use arrow keys to pan and +/− to zoom. Select a stream or point for details. Dark blue line with arrows: Allen Branch as mapped by USGS, with the dataset's flow direction. Dashed blue line: the mapped path downstream. Teal circles: registered water-quality monitoring locations. Small blue dots and green lines drawn by the NHD layer: mapped springs/seeps, sinks/rises and underground (karst) conduits. Navy marker: Somerset Community College, 808 Monticello Street — the center point (Kentucky 911 address point); dashed circles mark 0.5, 1 and 2 km from it. The ⌂ Campus button re-centers the map. For directions and highways, choose the Kentucky road map base map, or turn on Highways & roads over imagery or terrain. To see businesses, choose OpenStreetMap, or use Open in Google Maps (top right of the map) to open the same view in Google Maps with full business listings and Street View.
Four kinds of geographic information
Evidence standards →For Allen Branch, this portal keeps four kinds of information separate, and never lets one pass for another.
Mapped Verified geographic facts
Supported by authoritative geographic data. Currently: the stream's name and NHD classification (intermittent), its mapped length (4.02 km), its mapped flow direction, the mapped path to Sinking Creek, Pitman Creek and Lake Cumberland, the hydrologic units it lies in, and the bedrock and karst classes along it.
Unverified Preliminary interpretations
Inferred from imagery, terrain or descriptions. Currently: "shaded stream corridor." Imagery and hillshade are useful for planning, but a channel seen under canopy or a depression on a hillshade is an interpretation until visited.
Field confirmed Field observations
Recorded directly at a known location, with GPS position and accuracy. Currently: none. The first faculty-led visit will begin this category.
Hypothesis Research hypotheses
Proposed relationships that need testing — for example, that flow in Allen Branch is seasonal, or that some of its water arrives through karst. Listed on the Research Projects page, never shown as map facts.
Where Allen Branch sits in the drainage network
The USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset divides the country into nested hydrologic units, each identified by a code that gains two digits at each level. The mapped Allen Branch line lies entirely within one 12-digit subwatershed:
- Region 05 — Ohio
- HUC 8: 05130103 — Upper Cumberland–Lake Cumberland
- HUC 10: 0513010302 — Pitman Creek–Cumberland River
- HUC 12: 051301030204 — Lower Pitman Creek (128.26 km² for the whole unit)
In the National Hydrography Dataset, Allen Branch (GNIS 00485848) flows into Sinking Creek, which the dataset routes into Pitman Creek and then through Lake Cumberland on the Cumberland River. All of this is mapped information from USGS services checked on 2026-11-05; none of it has been verified in the field. The 128 km² area belongs to the whole Lower Pitman Creek unit — it is not the drainage area of Allen Branch, which has not been delineated.
Karst: when groundwater ignores the map
See Figure 4.1 →Much of south-central Kentucky is underlain by limestone, which slowly dissolves to form sinkholes, springs, caves and sinking streams. In such karst terrain, water that falls in one surface watershed can travel underground through conduits and emerge in another. The Kentucky Geological Survey's statewide map rates the bedrock along the mapped Allen Branch corridor as having intense to prone karst potential, and its 1:24,000 geologic maps show Upper Mississippian limestones there.
Two consequences follow for anyone using this map. First, surface watershed boundaries and stream lines describe where water would go over the land surface, not necessarily where it does go. Second, nothing about groundwater paths at Allen Branch can be concluded from these layers; only field evidence — observing where flow is gained or lost, chemistry, and, in karst, dye tracing by qualified investigators — can establish them. Turn on Karst potential, Mapped sinkholes, Springs and Dye traces & karst groundwater basins in the layer panel to see the regional context. The dye-trace layer is the closest thing to field evidence of underground flow on this map: Kentucky Geological Survey traces near Somerset run within about 1–2 km of campus, though none involves Allen Branch.
Layer provenance
Every layer on the map, with its provider, dataset, date or version, resolution, coverage and known limitations. "Service check" records the last date a request to the provider succeeded near Allen Branch.
| Layer | Provider & dataset | Date / version | Resolution | Coverage | Known limitations | Service check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS Topo Base maps |
U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map USGS Topo cached base map (USGSTopo MapServer) |
Continuously updated tile cache | Multi-scale cartographic base map; detailed to about 1:9,000 | United States | Cartographic generalization: lines are drawn for legibility, not survey accuracy. Roads and names come from several national datasets of different dates. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Kentucky road map (Commonwealth Map) Base maps |
Commonwealth of Kentucky, Division of Geographic Information (KyGovMaps) The Commonwealth Map — street base map (Ky_TCM_Street_Base_WGS84WM) |
Continuously maintained tile cache | Multi-scale road map; street names and building outlines at close zoom | Kentucky | A cartographic road map for orientation and directions. Road and route data come from state and local sources; it does not show private roads, access permission, or which roads reach the creek. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| OpenStreetMap (streets, businesses & places) Base maps |
OpenStreetMap contributors (OpenStreetMap Foundation tile server) OpenStreetMap standard map tiles |
Continuously edited by volunteers | Street level (to zoom 19) | Worldwide | Community-mapped. In Somerset, business coverage is partial — some places are named (for example near campus: the Courtyard hotel and The Center for Rural Development) but many buildings have no name. For complete business listings, hours and Street View, use the 'Open in Google Maps' button on the map. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| USGS Imagery Base maps |
U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map (USDA orthoimagery) USGS Imagery Only cached base map |
Service states 'Data refreshed June, 2024' | Visible to about 1:9,000 (roughly 1 m imagery) | United States | Leaf-on summer imagery hides narrow shaded streams under canopy. Imagery date varies by tile. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Imagery with roads & labels Base maps |
U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map USGS Imagery Topo cached base map (orthoimagery with US Topo roads, names and contours) |
Service states 'Data refreshed April, 2026' | Visible to about 1:9,000 | United States | Leaf-on imagery can hide narrow shaded channels; road and name overlays are generalized for legibility. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Kentucky aerial imagery 2022 (2 ft) Base maps |
Commonwealth of Kentucky, Division of Geographic Information (KyGovMaps); imagery from USDA NAIP Ky_Imagery_2022_2FT_WGS84WM (layer Ky_NAIP_2022_2FT_WM) |
2022 acquisition | 2 ft (about 0.6 m) pixels | Kentucky | Single growing-season acquisition; canopy obscures small channels; not a substitute for field confirmation of flow or channel location. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Terrain — KyFromAbove hillshade (5 ft) Base maps |
Commonwealth of Kentucky, KyFromAbove Ky_MultiDirectional_Hillshade_WGS84WM (from Ky_DEM_KYAPED_5FT) |
KyFromAbove Phase 1 lidar-derived 5-ft DEM | 5 ft (about 1.5 m) elevation grid | Kentucky | Shaded relief shows landforms (valleys, sinkholes, road fills) but no elevation values; it does not show where water flows underground. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Highways & roads Roads & highways |
U.S. Geological Survey, The National Map National Transportation Dataset (transportation MapServer): interstates, U.S. and state routes with route shields; local roads at closer zoom |
Service built from U.S. Census TIGER/Line and U.S. Forest Service road data | Scale-dependent: major highways at regional zoom, local roads when zoomed in | United States | Transparent overlay meant to sit on imagery, terrain or any base map. Road centerlines are generalized and may lag recent construction; the map says nothing about legal access to the creek. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Streams & waterbodies (NHD) Streams & watersheds |
U.S. Geological Survey National Hydrography Dataset, high resolution (nhd MapServer) — streams, waterbodies, and karst features: springs/seeps and sinks/rises (points) and underground conduits (lines) |
Service states 'Data Refreshed October, 2026' | 1:24,000 or better | United States | Mapped features, not field surveys. Perennial/intermittent/ephemeral classes come from map compilation and may not match current flow. Small headwater channels are often missing. Springs, sinks and underground conduits are shown only where they have been mapped; a conduit line shows a mapped connection, not its exact underground route, and unmapped karst connections are common. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Watershed boundaries (HUC 8 / 10 / 12) Streams & watersheds |
U.S. Geological Survey with NRCS Watershed Boundary Dataset (wbd MapServer, layers 4–6) |
Service states 'Data refreshed October, 2026' | 1:24,000 | United States | Hydrologic units are surface-topography units; a 12-digit unit is not the drainage basin of any particular small stream. In karst, groundwater can cross these boundaries. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Bedrock geology (geologic map) Bedrock geology |
Kentucky Geological Survey KY24KGeologicFormations_WGS84 — 1:24,000 geologic quadrangle data (1:500,000 map at regional zoom) |
Digitized 1996–2006 from 707 USGS/KGS geologic quadrangle maps published 1960–1980; Allen Branch lies on the Delmer (GQ-909) and Somerset (GQ-1196) quadrangles | 1:24,000 when zoomed in; 1:500,000 at regional zoom | Kentucky | Map units and contacts are geologists' interpretations from field mapping decades ago; contacts are approximate, and the map shows bedrock, not soil or groundwater paths. Select 'About' for the source quadrangle maps. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Land cover — NLCD 2021 Land cover |
U.S. Geological Survey / MRLC (Kentucky-hosted copy) Ky_Landcover_NLCD21_WGS84WM |
NLCD 2021 | 30 m pixels | Kentucky | 30-m pixels cannot resolve a narrow riparian corridor. 'Pasture/Hay' and 'Cultivated Crops' classes describe land cover, not management, fertilizer use or livestock density, and say nothing about whether runoff reaches a stream. No land-cover percentages are calculated on this site until a basin is properly delineated. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Karst potential (1:500,000) Karst & groundwater |
Kentucky Geological Survey KY500KKarstPotential_WGS84 — 1988 Geologic Map of Kentucky formations styled by karst potential |
1:500,000 compilation (1988) | 1:500,000 — regional only | Kentucky | Regional generalization from a 1:500,000 map; boundaries can be off by hundreds of meters and must not be used to judge a single site. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Mapped sinkholes Karst & groundwater |
Kentucky Geological Survey KYSinkholes — sinkhole outlines digitized from topographic contours |
Statewide coverage (KGS) | Digitized from 1:24,000 topographic maps | Kentucky | Only depressions large enough to show on topographic contours are mapped; many small or filled sinkholes are missing. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Springs (Kentucky Groundwater Data Repository) Karst & groundwater |
Kentucky Geological Survey (data from the Kentucky Division of Water) KYSprings |
Service states 'Last updated: February 05, 2026' | Point locations of varying accuracy | Kentucky | Only springs that have been reported to the repository; locations vary in accuracy. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Dye traces & karst groundwater basins Karst & groundwater |
Kentucky Geological Survey KYGWKarstBasins — dye injection and recovery sites, traced groundwater flow paths, and interpreted karst groundwater basins |
Current service (compilation of dye-trace studies) | Point sites; flow paths connect injection to recovery sites; basin boundaries interpreted from multiple traces | Kentucky areas where dye tracing has been done | A traced flow path shows that dye travelled from one place to another, not the exact underground route. KGS notes that flow paths can shift at high flow, basins can overlap, and the dataset does not guarantee the accuracy of flow paths or basin boundaries. Areas without traces are unknown, not unconnected. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Wastewater plants & outfalls Infrastructure & permitted facilities |
Kentucky Infrastructure Authority via KyGovMaps Ky_Wastewater_WGS84WM (layers: Wastewater Treatment Plants, Package Treatment Plants, WWTP Outfalls) |
Current service | Point locations | Kentucky | Wastewater infrastructure inventory, not the complete list of discharge permits (KPDES). Industrial, stormwater and agricultural permits are not shown. A nearby facility does not establish that it affects a given stream. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| USGS stream gages Monitoring locations |
U.S. Geological Survey via KyGovMaps Ky_USGS_Gages_WGS84WM |
Current service | Point locations | Kentucky | Includes inactive as well as active gages; check USGS Water Data for current status. No gage is mapped on Allen Branch. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Water-quality monitoring locations (WQP) Monitoring locations |
Water Quality Portal (USGS, EPA, NWQMC) Station search, HUC 051301030204 — saved extract data/geo/monitoring-locations.geojson |
Retrieved 2026-11-05 | Point locations as reported by each organization | Lower Pitman Creek subwatershed (HUC 051301030204) | Registered monitoring locations, not proof of current or recent sampling. Kentucky Division of Water sites appear twice (21KY and 21KY_WQX). None is on Allen Branch. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Allen Branch — NHD centerline & flow direction Portal data (Allen Branch) |
U.S. Geological Survey NHD (extract) data/geo/allen-branch-nhd.geojson — Allen Branch (GNIS 00485848) and mapped downstream reaches |
NHD service refreshed October 2026; extracted 2026-11-05 | NHD high resolution (1:24,000 or better) | Allen Branch and Sinking Creek to the Pitman Creek artificial path | Status: Mapped — not field-verified. Arrows follow NHD's digitized flow direction. The intermittent classification and the downstream connection have not been confirmed in the field, and karst may divert flow underground. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| 808 Monticello Street — campus center point Portal data (Allen Branch) |
Kentucky 911 Services Board (record maintained by Pulaski County 911), via KyGovMaps Kentucky 911 Site Structure Address Points — saved extract data/geo/campus-reference.geojson |
Address record updated 2022-05-03; retrieved 2026-11-05 | Single address point (placement method not stated in the record) | One point | Locates the campus street address and is the center point of every map. It is not the creek access point, not a sampling station, and not field-confirmed. The U.S. Census Geocoder places the same address 268 m to the northwest; the 911 address point is used instead. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Distance circles from campus (0.5, 1, 2 km) Portal data (Allen Branch) |
Biology at SCC (drawn around the campus address point) Circles of fixed radius centered on 808 Monticello Street |
Generated in the browser | Exact radii: 0.5, 1 and 2 km | 2 km around campus | Straight-line distance only. The circles are an orientation aid, not a study-area boundary, a watershed, a walking distance or an access route. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
| Field observation points Portal data (Allen Branch) |
Biology at SCC student researchers (faculty-reviewed) Approved entries from the student observation form (observation database); data/observations.json while online submission is off |
No observations published yet | Position recorded with each observation (photo GPS, phone location or map point), with stated accuracy where known | Portal field sites | Empty until the first field visit is submitted and approved. Positions come from student phones and may be off by tens of meters; the accuracy is shown where it was recorded. | Responding 2026-11-05 |
Not available yet
- Culverts and road crossings. No public statewide culvert inventory was found. Roads appear on the USGS Topo base map; culverts on Allen Branch need a field inventory.
- Upstream drainage area of Allen Branch. Not yet delineated. To be produced with USGS StreamStats (or lidar-based delineation in QGIS) and stored with its method and date.
- Stormwater outfalls (campus and city). Not available as a public layer found so far; requires municipal records or field inventory.
- Complete discharge-permit (KPDES) facilities. The wastewater layer above is an infrastructure inventory, not the full permit list. EPA ECHO facility search is the next source to integrate.
- Allen Branch sampling stations. None established yet. Stations will be added after field reconnaissance with GPS coordinates and stated accuracy.
Rules this portal follows for maps
- No watershed area, land-cover percentage or distance is calculated without real spatial data and a stated method.
- No flow path, tributary connection or groundwater route is drawn unless an authoritative dataset shows it — and then it is labeled Mapped, not confirmed.
- Nearby land use, facilities or farms are never treated as evidence of what reaches a stream.
- Large datasets are used through their providers' live services rather than copied; the only local geometries are small, labeled extracts in
data/geo/.
To go further, use USGS StreamStats for drainage delineation, the Kentucky Watershed Explorer, the National Map Viewer and QGIS.