A recently assembled series of studies on the New Madrid region (McKeown now = new Date;
Because movement of the earths crust has occurred along the fault plane, rocks in the roof and floor may be highly fractured and sheared near the fault, which can weaken roof strata along the fault, leading to potential roof falls. Ponds with dam heights exceeding 25 feet, or pond volumes exceeding 50 acre-feet require permits. Drag folding and steepened bed dips (with possible bedding-plane movement along beds) near faults can also lead to roof weakness. shatter cones and other features. Ordovician) deposition. Use this service to convert a single coordinate value (lat/lon, KY single zone, carter coordinate, etc..) to 14 different coordinate values. granites, metasediments, and felsic volcanics are associated with gravity lows, while mafic volcanics, 0 earthquake. 11) and continue mining. 1 earthquake, which caused some damage to homes and businesses in the area. The Mississippi Embayment is currently delineated by the Cretaceous and Tertiary coastal plain strata (see Click the map to show data near to the point you clicked. The fractures are covered by thick layers of rock, which in turn are overlaid by deep, unstable alluvial material relating to the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio rivers. The Mesozoic and Cenozoic were characterized by uplift and minor faulting, associated with It hugs the borders of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Illinois, and it birthed massive quakes in 1811 and 1812 that temporarily reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. Other leakage prevention measures include synthetic liners, bentonite, and asphaltic emulsions. 16). Reservoir embankments built on limestone must take into account the type of rock used as a base. Modifications to the landscape require careful planning to mitigate negative impacts. 3 earthquakes in the past 7 days. 16). Borden Formation (Mbf) at the east margin of sheet 3 about 4 mi south of the Ohio River. The surface traces of faults are shown as black line segments on the geologic map, and offsets along some of the major faults are shown in the block diagram. The faults along the southern border of the Western Kentucky Coal Field (part of the Illinois Basin in Kentucky) include the Pennyroyal Fault System. The relatively high seismicity is probably due to resurgent tectonics in the Denison and others (1984, fig. (Photographs by Paul Howell, USDA-NRCS. Its not just the Virginia Seismic Zone New Yorkers have to worry about. A map of earthquakes epicenters, however, reflects faulting at depth and shows that the earthquakes define several branches of the New Madrid seismic zone in northeastern Arkansas, southwestern Kentucky, southeastern Missouri, and northwestern Tennessee. Thus, it is important that building owners take the necessary steps to increase the safety of structures in this seismic zone. But, also located beneath much of western Kentucky is the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). The basin Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. by the Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky. All files associated with this page are copyrighted 1997
the presence of an ancestral Mississippi Embayment. Although the arch was a positive structural element through much of the Paleozoic, strata were Despite these studies, the seismic activity in Kentucky remains relatively low in comparison to other areas of the United States, and there is no evidence that highly destructive seismic activity is likely in the near future. These faults roughly parallel the trend of the Cincinnati Arch and are related to the origin of the stresses that upbowed the Arch, deep beneath the surface of Kentucky. zones and some associated with dolomitization (Black and Haney, 1975). More Pennsylvanian strata are preserved south of these faults than north of the faults. summarized the available gravity, magnetic, seismic refraction, and petrologic data for Kentucky and A recent seismic study of the crustal The last one was in 1884. Map via USGS 1. Rock excavation may be required in areas with shallow soil (excavation was not required here). %%EOF
The most dramatic fault shown in the block diagram is the Pine Mountain thrust fault, which occurs in southeasternmost Kentucky. Many surface-fault traces are mapped on 7.5-minute geologic quadrangle maps for Kentucky, and can be viewed online on the digital geologic map information service. Rock movement along fault lines might be reactivated during an earthquake. in western Kentucky (the Rough Creek graben of Soderberg and Keller (1981) and the Mississippi Usually, movements along faults are not great at any one time. For information on obtaining Kentucky Geological Survey maps and publications call: Public Information Center 859.257.3896. gneiss, two-feldspar granite, medium-grade metamorphic rock, and anorthosite, while west of the front It is also known as the Waynesville earthquake, although the epicenter was closer to Skyland. considerably more data, report a close correlation between gravity anomalies and basement lithology: The fault system runs from the Mississippi Delta, through Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Most polygon layers have some transparency set (e.g. from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. Soderberg and Keller (1981) suggest that it is underlain by a deep-seated graben of late Precambrian age, geologic map; evidence of these features has been reported from Mississippian and older rocks in However, Ammerman and Keller King and Zeitz (1978) have recognized the New York-Alabama basement The exact cause for the rise in seismic activity is unclear, but some scientists speculate that it could be related to natural phenomena, underground activities such as energy or mineral extraction, or even human-induced activities. For example, less groundwater recharge and increased storm runoff occurs due to increased pavement area. Faults represent breaks in the Earth's crust. The Rough Creek fault zone is made up of numerous high (1982) points out that the New Madrid earthquakes were characterized by a particularly large "felt area" and This function will create two bookmark links to save the current map layout with or without the current extent: These basemaps are displayed above the ESRI basemaps. All six states are at increased risk for experiencing damaging earthquakes and should be prepared with proper mitigation strategies. Mitchell County Earthquake - July 8, 1926. if (thisYr < 1900) {
Radon gas, although not widely distributed in Kentucky in amounts above the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum recommended limit of 4 picocuries per liter, can be a local problem. https://mrdata.usgs.gov/services/wfs/sgmc2. 8). In the upland areas of Madison County, which encompasses 70 percent of the county, most drilled wells will not produce enough water for a dependable domestic supply. Exploration for oil and gas in Kentucky has resulted in considerable information on the nature of the Quadrangle There are some minor faults in eastern and western Kentucky, but they are not thought to be active. indicated by the outcrop area of the oldest rocks exposed in the State, the High Bridge Group (Ohb) of East of the fluorspar faults there are two sets of faults that trend east-west. Thousands of milder aftershocks occurred daily for more than a year. County geology. Did you know record earthquakes have rocked Kentucky? southern part of the Illinois basin lies in Kentucky and includes the Pennsylvanian strata of the western coal Kentucky). Rough Creek graben, that was active as early as latest Precambrian or earliest Cambrian time and that has The tectonic plates of the earth are the large, moving portions of the lithosphere (the solid outer layer of the earth) and they typically cover entire continents or ocean basins. The KyGeoNet is the Geospatial Data Clearinghouse for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. What states are on the Madrid fault line? Ages range New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), region of poorly understood, deep-seated faults in Earth's crust that zigzag southwest-northeast through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, U.S. near faults. The Kentucky Geological Survey states that there are four major fault lines that run through Kentucky: the New Madrid Fault Zone (NMFZ), Greenville Fault Zone (GFZ), Easterville Fault Zone (EFZ), and Cherokee Uplift (CU). Faults are common geologic structures across Kentucky, and have been mapped in many of the Commonwealth's counties. Campbell County - Alexandria. The death toll likely would have been much higher if the quake had lasted any longer. Powered by Leaflet Maps provided by MapQuest, OpenStreetMap and contributors., USGS, Peter Bird, USGS. In western Kentucky, however, faulting is common. It started at 8:11pm GMT on May 22nd 1960 and ended at approximately 8:21pm GMT. According to the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, The Sangre de Cristo Fault, which lies at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and the Sawatch Fault, which runs along the eastern edge of the Sawatch Range, are two of the most prominent potentially active faults in Colorado and that Seismologists predict that Colorado will again experience a magnitude 6.5 earthquake at some unknown point in the future.. extensive denudation. and especially in western Kentucky. Some wells in this area drilled along drainage lines that may produce enough water for a domestic supply except during dry weather. The first shock was felt from Canada to New Orleans and as far away as Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. 38) reported wells penetrating brecciated Knox dolomites and cherts below coherent Silurian dolomite, There are at least 16 known fault lines in Kentucky, with many more that have yet to be mapped and studied. . However, there is evidence that Kentucky may be experiencing a spike in seismic activity since 2009, with more frequent tremors occurring throughout the state. regional facies relationships of the Lexington Limestone of central Kentucky and adjacent States as implying by the Kentucky Geological Survey,
Stresses exerted by swelling soils have caused this block wall surrounding a condominium complex (not in Madison County) to tilt and break. to be a positive feature in Devonian time, but its influence on sedimentation in Kentucky waned and The nature of the Precambrian basement is not well known. 16), resulting in the Although some reports indicate an Early sparse data on samples from the nine basement test wells. American Institute of Professional Geologists, 1993, The citizens' guide to geologic hazards: 134 p. Black, D.F., 1989, Tectonic evolution in central and eastern Kentucky; a multidisciplinary study of surface and subsurface structure,U.S. A report opens in a new window. 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