Limestone Belt
The Limestone Belt is characterized by a gradual slope that tilts up to the east, brin
ging the land surface from an elevation of approximately 500 feet at the Watterson Expressway and Mud Creek to a little over 700 feet east of Middletown and Jeffersontown. When you drive west down Shelbyville Road from Hurstbourne Parkway to St. Matthews, you can feel and see this slope of land, which reflects the tilt of the rock layers. The bedrock is layer upon layer of limestone, with some layers of shale and dolomite in the area south of Outer loop. The limestone bedrock combined with the gentle topography and multiple creeks has historically made it ideal for farming and agriculture.
