Parks and Recreation System Master Plan Update (2016) parks_and_recreation_system_master_plan_update_oct | Page 41

The Slack-water Flats are an extensive area of level,
poorly drained soils which occur on the former site of a lake
to the north and east of the Knob Hills region. Parks such as
Blue Lick and Okolona are within this region. Historically
known as “the Wet Woods,” this area was once a vast
system of bottomland hardwood forest and wetlands. Much
of this land has been drained for agriculture and later
development, but important remnants of the wetlands are
still found in this region.
To the east of the Slack-water Flats and
Knob Hills region, the Limestone Belt is a wide
band of level to steeply sloping soils formed from
limestone. This region encompasses a major
portion of the County from the Bullitt County
boundary to the Ohio River valley including the
eastern part of Louisville. Cherokee Park typifies
the rolling topography associated with stream
corridors in this region. McNeely Park, centered
around a lake created by damming the
Pennsylvania Run, is another major park located in this region. Karst features such as sinkholes
and related features are an important characteristic of this region.
The Floyds Fork Drainage Area is a diverse landscape
of gently sloping to steep uplands in the extreme eastern
portion of the County dissected by Floyds Fork and its
tributaries. This region is characterized by more steeply
rolling topography than the Limestone Belt. The Parklands of
Floyds Fork is located within a large part of this region.
Steep Slopes and Eroded Soils
Steep slopes represent a significant constraint to land development due to their
unstable nature and susceptibility to erosion if altered or stripped of vegetation. In addition,
sloping topography contributes to the visual diversity of the landscape. In Louisville the steepest
slopes are found in the Knob Hills, along Floyds Fork and associated tributary streams, and along
deeply incised tributaries of the Ohio River in the northeastern part of Louisville (Goose Creek
and Harrods Creek).
Another measure of susceptibility to erosion is the group of soils classified by the Soil
Conservation Service as eroded or severely eroded. These soils are concentrated in the eastern
part of Louisville, particularly in the Floyds Fork Drainage Area and also found in the Knobs
region.
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III. CONTEXT AND COMMUNITY INVENTORY | October 2016 Update