Loading map...

1984 Map of Paducah

Name: 1984 Topographic Map of Paducah
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

The confluence of the Ohio River, Tennessee River, and Cumberland River anchors this regional study of the western Kentucky and southern Illinois borderlands. In the mid-1980s, the landscape is defined by its massive water management projects and timbered tracts, notably the Land Between The Lakes recreation area situated between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Industrial and transport nodes like Paducah and Metropolis contrast with the dense woodlands of the Shawnee National Forest, while the Kentucky State Penitentiary stands prominently on the shores of Lake Barkley near Eddyville.

Railroad networks, including the Illinois Central Gulf RR and Burlington Northern RR, reveal the persistent importance of heavy transit through the river valleys. Smaller settlements such as Grantsburg, Reevesville, and Golconda dot the interior, connected by a maturing highway system that winds through the Cretaceous Hills and across the Valley and Divide terrains. This survey captures the region just as modern recreation and conservation efforts, such as Dixon Springs State Park and the Mermet Lake Conservation Area, were becoming central to the local economy.