Marshall County occupies a distinctive part of western Kentucky, with Benton near the center, Calvert City near the Tennessee River and Kentucky Dam in the north, and Hardin anchoring the south. Kentucky Lake follows the eastern side of the county, while a dense network of Clarks River tributaries and smaller creeks drains the interior. The road map shows routes 62, 24, 69, 95, 68, 80, and 641 linking the main settlement areas. High-resolution JPG versions of the maps are available together in a ZIP archive for printing, classroom work, presentations, and offline reference. High-resolution map files are available for download in the section below.
Benton is the strongest orientation point because the road network spreads from the central city in several directions. Calvert City sits farther north near Gilbertsville and Kentucky Dam State Park, while Hardin lies south along the U.S. 641 corridor. Western Marshall County contains many branching creeks and rolling hills, whereas the eastern edge drops toward Kentucky Lake and its long shoreline. The elevation map reports a countywide range of about 82 to 168 meters, showing a clear difference between low water corridors and higher interior ridges.
Table of Contents
Benton links Calvert City, Hardin, and the county road network
The general county map makes Benton the natural starting point. Routes 69 and 95 head north toward Calvert City, while U.S. 641 continues south through Hardin and beyond the county line. Routes 62 and 24 cross the northern section, and routes 68 and 80 are visible toward the southeastern side. With those major roads located first, smaller routes such as 795, 962, and 963 become much easier to place.
West and southwest of Benton, routes 348, 408, and 58 cross a landscape cut by many small streams. The road network bends more often here than a simple grid would suggest because routes follow the rolling terrain and creek valleys. North of Benton, route 795 connects with the larger north-south network, while local roads on the eastern side extend toward Kentucky Lake.
Calvert City provides the main northern reference. The map also labels Gilbertsville and Kentucky Dam State Park, helping place the city beside the Tennessee River and the head of Kentucky Lake. Routes 69 and 95 connect the Calvert City area with Benton, while route 62 provides an important east-west line across northern Marshall County.
Hardin is the southern reference near U.S. 641. East-west roads connect it with the western interior and the Kentucky Lake side. The general map is the strongest single view for settlements, roads, county boundaries, the hospital marker in Benton, and the state-park area near Kentucky Dam. It is not a live navigation product, so current closures and construction should be checked with up-to-date transportation sources.
Straight-line connections from Benton to Calvert City and Hardin
The city-connections map uses Benton as the hub and highlights Calvert City and Hardin as the other major mapped communities. The graphic labels Benton with 4,748 residents, Calvert City with 2,526, and Hardin with 446. It also shows a direct distance of about 12 miles from Benton to Calvert City and about 6 miles from Benton to Hardin. Those numbers are straight-line distances between the mapped points, not driving distances along the road network.
Calvert City lies north of Benton and much closer to the Kentucky Dam and Tennessee River area. Hardin is south of Benton near the U.S. 641 corridor. The three communities do not form a perfect straight line, but Benton works well as a central reference because the northern and southern directions are easy to distinguish. The simplified city map is particularly useful when road numbers would distract from the basic settlement pattern.
Once the three city locations are familiar, the general map adds the transportation detail. Routes 69 and 95 explain the Benton-to-Calvert City direction, while U.S. 641 provides the clearest route toward Hardin. Comparing the two views also shows why the listed 12- and 6-mile figures should not be treated as road mileage: local routes bend through rolling terrain and do not always follow the direct line.
Neighboring county labels provide additional orientation. McCracken and Graves counties appear along the western and southwestern sides, with Calloway County farther northwest on the city map. Across Kentucky Lake, Lyon, Trigg, and Crittenden counties are shown to the east. This broader context makes the long north-south shape of Marshall County easier to understand.
Kentucky Lake and the Clarks River tributaries define the water landscape
The largest water features sit along the county’s northern and eastern edges. Kentucky Geological Survey describes the Tennessee River as the northern boundary and Kentucky Lake, the reservoir on the Tennessee River, as the eastern boundary. The maps reflect that geography clearly: the northern edge follows a broad river corridor, and the eastern side is shaped by the long Kentucky Lake shoreline below Kentucky Dam.
Inside the county, the drainage pattern changes to smaller creeks and forks. Cypress Creek and Little Cypress Creek are prominent in the northwest. East Fork Clarks River crosses the western interior, and West Fork Clarks River appears farther south. Middle Fork Creek and Gibson Creek add smaller valley references around the central-western part of Marshall County.
Soldier Creek is labeled in the southwest, while Bear Creek and numerous unnamed tributaries occupy the central and eastern interior. These streams divide the rolling land into many small valleys before water eventually reaches the larger river system. Starting with Cypress Creek and the East and West forks of Clarks River is an easy way to organize the dense network without trying to memorize every blue line.
Across Kentucky Lake, labels such as Crab Bay, Demumbers Bay, and Willow Bay appear on the opposite shoreline and help orient the wider lake area. They should not be confused with towns inside Marshall County. The terrain-and-water map is intended for geographic reference, not for current lake level, flood forecasting, navigation depth, fishing rules, or property-access decisions.
An 82–168 meter elevation range separates shoreline lowlands from interior hills
The elevation map reports an actual range of approximately 82 to 168 meters and a mean near 127 meters. Low green terrain follows the Tennessee River, Kentucky Lake, and major creek valleys. Higher yellow, orange, and brown terrain is more extensive in the central and southwestern interior, producing a rolling landscape rather than a uniformly flat plain.
The Calvert City and Kentucky Dam area is dominated by lower terrain near the major water corridors. Farther west, small ridges become more visible, although Cypress Creek and Little Cypress Creek remain as narrow low pathways through the hills. The pattern shows why water and elevation maps complement each other: many of the green corridors correspond closely to the creek network.
Around Benton and across the south-central and southwestern county, higher terrain becomes broader and more continuous. Ridge systems are separated by smaller valleys, and roads often use those lower passages. Hardin sits within the southern rolling country, while elevation drops again toward the Kentucky Lake shoreline to the east.
The elevation surface is designed for county-scale comparison, not survey-grade site measurement. It can distinguish river lowlands, creek valleys, and higher uplands, but it should not be used as an exact elevation for a parcel, building site, roadway, or engineering project. Detailed work should rely on current source elevation data or professional field surveying.
A practical way to move from Benton to Kentucky Dam and Hardin
Begin with Benton on the general map and locate routes 69, 95, and U.S. 641. Those roads establish the main north-south orientation. The city-connections map then reduces the county to three settlement references and shows Calvert City about 12 direct miles north of Benton and Hardin about 6 direct miles to the south. Once that layout is clear, the physical maps add the reasons the road system bends and spreads.
For the northern part of the county, follow Calvert City toward Kentucky Dam and the Tennessee River. Cypress Creek and Little Cypress Creek provide interior water references on the terrain map, while the elevation view shows broad low ground near the major water corridors. Kentucky Dam State Park is another useful landmark on the general map for keeping the northwestern and lake-side geography organized.
For the south, use Hardin and U.S. 641 as the settlement and road references. Soldier Creek and nearby tributaries add the water context, and the elevation map shows higher rolling terrain west of the lake. Following the same place through the road, water, and elevation views creates a more coherent picture than memorizing separate feature lists.
Choosing the best Marshall County map for print or classroom use
Use the general county map when Benton, Calvert City, Hardin, numbered roads, Kentucky Dam, and the complete county boundary need to be seen together. The city-connections map is cleaner when the goal is simply to explain the relative position of the three highlighted communities and the straight-line distances from Benton.
Choose the terrain-and-water map for Kentucky Lake, the Tennessee River, Cypress Creek, the Clarks River forks, Soldier Creek, and the many smaller tributaries. The elevation map is more useful when the question is why shoreline areas and creek valleys are low while the central and southwestern interior is higher. Displaying the water and elevation views together makes that relationship especially clear.
The WebP images in the article are optimized for browser viewing. The downloadable archive contains the original JPG maps at 2,572×3,638 pixels each, making them better suited to printing, worksheets, presentations, and offline reference. These maps are general geographic resources rather than legal boundary records, flood studies, navigation charts, parcel surveys, or engineering plans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the 12-mile and 6-mile distances from Benton driving distances?
No. The city-connections map shows straight-line distances of about 12 miles from Benton to Calvert City and 6 miles from Benton to Hardin. Actual driving mileage can be longer because roads curve through the county and may not follow the direct line between the mapped points.
Which map is best for Kentucky Lake and the Clarks River forks?
The terrain-and-water map is the best choice. It shows Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River together with Cypress Creek, Little Cypress Creek, East Fork Clarks River, West Fork Clarks River, Soldier Creek, and many smaller tributaries across the county.
Can the 82–168 meter 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 127 meters. It is useful for comparing low water corridors with higher interior hills, 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 Marshall County road-and-boundary map, city-connections 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 government information is available from the official Marshall County website and the Kentucky.gov Marshall County profile. For boundary and road data, see the U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles. Water and elevation sources include USGS National Hydrography and the USGS 3D Elevation Program.
Additional topographic background is available from the Kentucky Geological Survey Marshall County topography page. These maps are intended for geographic explanation, printing, and general reference; legal boundaries, live traffic, flood safety, navigation, surveying, and engineering work should use the latest authoritative data from the responsible 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.
