134-6 From Ocean-Dwellers to Hilltoppers: Tracing the Geoheritage of Western Kentucky University’s Campus

Session: Crossing Boundaries: Histories of Geoheritage

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Western Kentucky University (WKU) is located adjacent to Mammoth Cave National Park, the world’s longest known cave system, designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Much like that famous cavern, the hill that hosts the WKU campus is built of limestone that dissolves easily in water, forming caves and sinkholes. Yet, the geoheritage significance of the campus has yet to be investigated.

Using traditional field procedures, aerial drone imagery, and ArcGIS analysis of high-resolution (61 cm) digital elevation models (DEMs), we mapped eleven limestone outcrops across campus. The rocks are Middle to Late Mississippian in age (~335–325 Ma) and match the regional geology of south-central Kentucky. Stratigraphically upward, we logged Ste. Genevieve Limestone (Meramecian series) capped by Girkin Limestone (Chesterian series). Within the Ste. Genevieve Limestone, we identified three members – Fredonia Limestone, Rosiclaire Sandstone, and Levias Limestone, from oldest to youngest. Sedimentological investigation of the outcrops revealed dune-scale cross-bedding, current and wave ripples, bipolar cross-laminations, and crinoid and brachiopod fossils, suggesting that the campus area once lay on a warm, shallow sea floor.

Structural joints observed in several outcrops concentrated at the top of The Hill offer insight into the post-depositional evolution of the campus landscape. Water widened the joints into narrow slots (grikes) and created mesoscale karst features called karren. The exposed limestone blocks (clints) display geomorphological features like rills, flutes, channels, and rillenkarren. Grikes appear to be significantly weathered not only by hydraulic dissolution, but also by other weathering processes including frost wedging.

Preserving the campus outcrops can serve as a valuable resource for WKU general education geology courses and for local K-12 field trips. A geoheritage trail across campus would link science with daily life, build community pride, and remind visitors that caring for our land starts with understanding its deep history.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-6753

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