Environmental Geology of the Evansville Area, Southwestern Indiana

Indiana Geological Survey Special Report 12; Indiana Geological Survey Environmental Study 12Since early in human history, land has been considered to be to be the single most indispensable resource. Indeed, some students of economics believe that all wealth is derived ultimately from the land. Land is not, however, an inexhaustible resource, and as populations increase, more and more people are coming to realize that wise use of the land is required to preserve land resource values for future generations. Geology-or to translate the term freely, earth science- provides basic data that can contribute to planning for wise land use. This report covers an area of about 185 square miles (480 square kilometers) surrounding the city of Evansville in southwestern Indiana. Fieldwork was done in the spring of 1970 by Straw; this was followed by air photo analysis, including the study of color infrared imagery, by Powell and Gray. Geologic data on file in the offices of the Geological Survey, Bloomington, and the Division of Water, Indianapolis (both of which are agencies of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources), were reviewed. Mine maps were secured from the files of the Indiana Bureau of Mines and Mining in Terre Haute. Drill records and soil samples for testing were provided by the Division of Materials and Tests, Indiana State Highway Commission, and by consultant engineers. And finally, geologic data of many kinds were obtained from a wide variety of published and unpublished reports.Indiana Department of Natural Resource