Pendleton County occupies the rolling hills of northern Kentucky, with Falmouth serving as the main settlement and administrative reference and Butler providing a second city along the Licking River. US 27 and Kentucky routes 17, 22, 159, 177, 330, 609, 8, 9, and 10 connect the central river valley with the western hills and the northeastern Ohio River side. The terrain-and-water map adds the Licking River, South Fork Licking River, Grassy Creek branches, Kincaid Creek, Blanket Creek, Willow Creek, and Woodland Lake. High-resolution JPG versions of the supplied maps can also be downloaded together in one ZIP archive for printing, classroom work, presentations, or offline reference. High-resolution map files are available for download in the section below.
Pendleton County’s official website describes the county as rolling northern Kentucky country roughly midway between Cincinnati and Lexington. It identifies Falmouth as the county seat at the meeting of the Main and South Licking rivers and notes that Butler lies on the Licking River about 10 miles north of Falmouth. The elevation map reports an actual county range of about 44 to 293 meters with a mean near 224 meters, showing deep river corridors between long ridges.
Table of Contents
Falmouth anchors US 27 and the central road network
The general county map makes Falmouth the easiest place to begin. US 27 approaches from the south and reaches the city area, route 17 continues north toward Butler, and routes 330, 159, and 609 provide additional connections west and east. The road network follows the broad Licking River valley before branching into smaller creek valleys and uplands.
Butler sits in the north-central county close to the Licking River and route 17. Routes 177 and 154 extend through the surrounding hills, while routes 8, 9, and 10 provide references closer to the northeastern Ohio River side. The northern county contains fewer large settlement labels and a denser pattern of small streams and rural roads.
Routes 467 and 491 cross the western side near the Grant County direction, and route 22 provides another southwestern connection toward Williamstown. Gene Snyder Airport appears northwest of Falmouth and provides a useful additional landmark around the central county. California and Mentor appear beyond the northeastern boundary as regional references.
This map is intended for geographic orientation rather than live navigation. It does not show current construction, temporary closures, bridge restrictions, or travel times. Roads frequently follow narrow creek valleys around long ridges, so actual driving distance can be substantially longer than the direct map separation between places.
Falmouth and Butler form the two-city distribution
The city-distribution map ranks two major cities. Falmouth is listed first with 2,449 residents and Butler second with 515. These are the figures printed on the supplied map and are best used to compare the relative scale of the mapped settlements rather than treated as a current population estimate.
Falmouth lies in the central-southern county, while Butler is farther north along the Licking River. The official county website also describes Butler as being about 10 miles north of Falmouth on the river. The spacing between the two cities leaves a large rural area of creek valleys and ridges rather than one continuous urban corridor.
Neighboring county labels include Campbell to the north, Bracken to the east, Robertson to the southeast, Harrison to the west, and Grant and Kenton to the west and northwest. Those references place Pendleton County within northern Kentucky’s Licking River landscape between the Cincinnati area and the Bluegrass farther south.
The simplified city view works well when settlement size and direction matter more than road detail. The general county map is the better choice for state-route numbers, Gene Snyder Airport, and smaller local references. Once Falmouth and Butler are fixed on the city map, the Licking River corridor becomes much easier to follow on the physical maps.
Licking River and South Fork create the main central valley
The Licking River is the dominant water feature on the terrain-and-water map, winding through the county from south to north. At Falmouth, the South Fork Licking River joins the main river, creating a broad low valley around the county seat. Pendleton County’s official local history also highlights this confluence as one of the defining geographic features of Falmouth.
North Fork Grassy Creek, Middle Fork Grassy Creek, and South Fork Grassy Creek divide the western and northwestern hills. Brushy Fork and Stone Creek add smaller drainage corridors farther south, while Woodland Lake provides a compact water landmark in the north-central interior. These streams occupy narrow low ground between closely spaced ridges.
Kincaid Creek is one of the strongest eastern tributary references, with North Fork Kincaid Creek entering from farther north. Blanket Creek and Willow Creek occupy the southeastern interior. The Ohio River appears beyond the northeastern county edge, providing the larger downstream reference for the Licking River system.
A practical reading order is to start with the Licking River and South Fork confluence, then move west to the Grassy Creek branches and east to Kincaid Creek before tracing Blanket and Willow creeks in the southeast. This is a general geographic reference rather than a flood, navigation, water-depth, fishing-regulation, or property-access product. Current conditions should be checked with the responsible agencies.
Elevation from 44 to 293 meters highlights deep river corridors
The elevation map reports an actual county range of about 44 to 293 meters and a mean near 224 meters. The lowest dark-green terrain follows the Licking River and South Fork Licking River through the middle of the county. Another low corridor appears near the northeastern Ohio River side, while orange and brown ridges rise sharply away from the major waterways.
The western and northwestern side is strongly dissected by the Grassy Creek system. Narrow green stream bottoms alternate with long yellow, orange, and brown ridges. Routes 467, 491, and 22 cross this terrain, and their winding alignments make more sense when the elevation surface is compared with the road map.
The central Licking River valley is the clearest low passage in Pendleton County. From Falmouth north toward Butler, the river bottom remains broad and green, while tributary valleys branch outward toward the higher western and eastern hills. The outer ridges on both sides of the county contain much of the higher terrain.
The elevation colors are intended for county-scale comparison rather than parcel-level measurement. They are useful for distinguishing river bottoms from upland ridges, but they should not be treated as survey-grade elevation for a road, structure, property, or engineering project. Exact site work should rely on current source data or professional surveying.
Following Pendleton County from Falmouth to Butler and the Ohio River side
Falmouth is the simplest starting point for comparing all of the map views. On the road map, locate US 27 and routes 17, 159, and 330, then identify Butler to the north. On the physical map, the meeting of the Licking River and South Fork Licking River provides the main central reference.
For the north, follow route 17 through Butler and use routes 177 and 154 to orient the surrounding hills. The elevation map shows the Licking River as a low green corridor between much higher ridges. Farther northeast, routes 8, 9, and 10 help place the county edge near the Ohio River.
For the west, use routes 22, 467, and 491 together with the Grassy Creek branches. On the east, routes 609 and 159 can be compared with Kincaid Creek, Blanket Creek, and Willow Creek. Repeating the same locations across the road, water, and elevation maps makes the county’s long ridge-and-valley terrain much easier to understand.
Choosing the best Pendleton County map for print, class, or reference
Use the general county map when Falmouth, Butler, numbered roads, Gene Snyder Airport, and the full boundary need to appear together. The city-distribution map is cleaner when the main question is how Falmouth and Butler compare in size and where they sit along the Licking River corridor.
Choose the terrain-and-water map for the Licking River, South Fork Licking River, Grassy Creek system, Kincaid Creek, Blanket Creek, Willow Creek, and Woodland Lake. The elevation map is the strongest view for explaining the contrast between the low central river corridor and the higher western and eastern ridges. Comparing water and elevation together makes that relationship especially clear.
The WebP images in the article are optimized for browser viewing. The downloadable ZIP contains the original JPG maps at 2,572×3,638 pixels each, which is better suited to printing, classroom worksheets, presentations, and offline reference. These maps are general geographic resources rather than legal boundary records, flood studies, parcel surveys, navigation products, or engineering plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Falmouth within Pendleton County?
Falmouth lies in the central-southern county and serves as the county seat. Pendleton County’s official website places it at the confluence of the Main and South Licking rivers. US 27 and routes 17, 159, and 330 provide the easiest road references around the city.
Which map best shows the Licking River and South Fork Licking River together?
The terrain-and-water map is the best choice. It shows the Falmouth confluence together with the Licking River, South Fork Licking River, Grassy Creek branches, Kincaid Creek, Blanket Creek, Willow Creek, and Woodland Lake.
Can the 44–293 meter elevation range be used as an exact property elevation?
No. The range summarizes the actual countywide elevations shown on the supplied map, with a mean near 224 meters. It is useful for comparing river bottoms with higher ridges, but exact site elevations should come from current source data or professional surveying.
Map File Information
The ZIP archive contains the original high-resolution JPG versions of the Pendleton County road-and-boundary map, city-distribution map, terrain-and-water map, and elevation map. Each image is 2,572×3,638 pixels for printing, classroom work, presentations, and offline reference.
- File Type: 4 JPG files inside one ZIP archive
Related Maps
Sources and references
County, Falmouth, and Butler information is available from the official Pendleton County website and its About Us page. For underlying geographic data, see the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles for boundaries and roads, USGS National Hydrography for rivers and streams, and the USGS 3D Elevation Program for elevation data.
These maps are intended for geographic explanation, printing, and general reference. Legal boundary decisions, live traffic, flood and water-safety questions, property surveying, and engineering work should rely on the latest authoritative information from the responsible public agency.
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
