5
Engineering and Topography
5.3
Physical Features
5.3.1
Topography
The
general topography of the southern section of the study area
can be broadly broken into two areas - north and south of
Thomastown.
The north section consists of undulating hills where the land
generally varies between 20 - 90 m above Ordnance Datum (AOD).
The River Nore Valley sweeps south through the middle of this
section from Kilkenny City to the northwest to Thomastown.
The Kings River Valley passes from west to east to meet the
Nore Valley just northeast of Stoneyford.
The
area south of Thomastown is dominated by the steep river valleys
associated with the River Nore and its tributary, the Arrigle
River, and the South Kilkenny Hills. The generally hilly topography
varies between 50 - 100 m AOD with the higher peaks reaching
up to 250 - 290 m AOD, as shown on Figures 3A and 3B. The
steep, mountainous countryside eases to undulating terrain
toward Kilmacow.
The
ground elevation in the area north of Thomastown remains below
100 mAOD, however, the South Kilkenny Hills rise to above
200 mAOD over a relatively short distance, and pose a considerable
physical constraint in this area. In addition, Tory Hill to
the southeast of Mullinavat has similar characteristics. It
is considered unlikely that any route through the study area
would pass through these raised areas over the 200 mAOD elevation.
Therefore, these areas above the 200 mAOD level have been
shown as constraints on Figures 3A and 3B.
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