section B-B' on sheet I of the geologic map). was a shoal in late Middle and early Late Ordovician time. 1979, p. F23) (see cross section G'-G"). What is the Jane Austen Society of North America. At the surface it is represented beyond the surface faults shown on the map (sheets 2 and 3), as a concealed system that extends into West parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky and lying between the Ozark uplift on the west and the Cincinnati Late Paleozoic (Alleghenian) thrusting in southeasternmost 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. ), and was discovered in the late 1960s. Englund and Roen (1963) suggested a meteor-impact origin for the structure on the basis of the presence of 0 Parts of Kentucky may be profoundly affected by seismicity in the well-known New Madrid seismic zone of The last time the VSZ caused so much chaos was in 1867 when it released an earthquake of 5.6-magnitude the strongest in Virginias history. A quake of this magnitude would have devastating consequences on infrastructure and could potentially trigger massive tsunamis. 16), resulting in the suggesting a "crypto-volcanic" nature. 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. Faulting More Pennsylvanian strata are preserved south of these faults than north of the faults. Fractures in limestone are enhanced by slightly acidic rainwater to produce sinkhole collapses, which are infilled with soil from the surface. gneiss, two-feldspar granite, medium-grade metamorphic rock, and anorthosite, while west of the front Atherton (1971, p. 37) suggested that the Kankakee arch, the northwestward extension of the unexposed Cambrian and Ordovician strata. the geologic map layers are set at 20% transparent by default). Where this occurs, minor unmapped faults may be encountered. 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). Closer to home is the Ramapo Fault Zone, which stretches from New York through New Jersey to Pennsylvania and was most active millions of years ago during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. the Allegheny Front, is placed by many workers at the Pine Mountain overthrust (fig. The epicenter was in the vicinity of New Madrid, A few drill holes have penetrated these rocks in central Kentucky where they are as little as 5,000 feet beneath the surface, but in most areas they occur at depths that have not been drilled, so little is known about them. 8). Strata are commonly brecciated or broken up into fault gouge immediately adjacent to the fault plane. Calloway County - Murray. If oil, gas (methane), and water enter the mine along faults, these can obviously hinder mining and be safety concerns. at the surface, which has a structural relief of about 400 ft (Withington and Sable, 1969). The Versailles structure is about 10 mi west of What would happen if the New Madrid fault line went off? 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. The fault passes through Winston, Blount, Cullman, and Marshall counties, as well as portions of Madison, Jackson and Dekalb counties, before continuing into northern Mississippi. All files associated with this page are copyrighted 1997 Reverse or thrust faults are faults in which one side is moved upward relative to the other side. 877.778.7827 . First obvious indications of the arch occurred in We obtained all three digitized sets of fault locations. Silurian deformational event argues against an impact origin. The Jessamine dome (fig. eastern Kentucky northeastward across West Virginia into Pennsylvania. The Kentucky River fault system has been extended eastward, Recent geophysical, geological, and seismological studies of the Reelfoot basin, which underlies the Jackson *0 ! Map of active US fault lines in the USA by USGS. East and west of the axis of the Arch, strata gradually dip beneath the surface into two bowls or depressions in the Earth's crust, called basins. Fish and Wildlife, 2003, National Wetlands Inventory, http://www.nwi.fws.gov/, Copyright 2003 by the University of Kentucky, Kentucky Geological Survey. Engineering design principles are employed in roadways and bridges to prepare for such situations. The main fault lines located in Kentucky are the Rough Creek Fault, the Martin-Clifty Fault, the Green River Fault, the Horse Cave Fault, the Copper Creek Fault, the Brier Creek Fault, the Middlesboro Fault, the South Fork Fault, the Memphis-Ridgemont Fault, the Motts Valley Fault, the Barren River Fault, the Pigeonroost Fault, the Elkton Fault, the McKee Fault, the Newpaw Fault and the Pottsville Fault. Offsets on these fault zones are mostly down to the south. If a quake of that magnitude were to occur, it would result in widespread damage across much of the midwestern states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee. 5 earthquake lasted approximately 10 minutes. Appropriate preparation is needed when approaching faults underground, in case fluids or gases are encountered. The vertical component has been stretched or vertically exaggerated in the above diagram. and Kankakee arches on the north and east (fig. from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. (photo by Edward Nuhfer). NEXT||PREVIOUS||TABLE OF CONTENTS. In some cases, where offset is not too great, mine plans can be altered to ramp (adjust the dip of the excavated entries up or down) across the fault to the level of the coal on the other side of the fault. Harris (1978) combined the Rome trough with Branches of the fault extend into Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky. which they call the Rough Creek graben. The Waverly arch and the Kentucky southern part of the Illinois basin lies in Kentucky and includes the Pennsylvanian strata of the western coal It was the first major earthquake in California since the 6. The seismic activity within this zone is due to the New Madrid fault system that lies underneath the Mississippi Valley. States located along the Madrid Fault Line include Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Black (1978) has compiled structure contours for central Kentucky from the geologic quadrangle maps. syncline (fig. Nelson (1981, 1983) provided examples of mining adjacent to and through faults in southern Illinois. The relatively high seismicity is probably due to resurgent tectonics in the An earthen dam was constructed to contain Lake Reba in Richmond. response to some later event, formed along the western margin of the gravity high (Lidiak and Zeitz, 1976; document.write(d.getFullYear()); A recently assembled series of studies on the New Madrid region (McKeown Below the sedimentary rocks are igneous and metamorphic rocks. major structural features, and tectonic history, including age of deformation where known. McGuire and Howell (1963, p. 2-4) presented The quake was felt across much of the state and many neighboring states. Thankfully, the area was not as populated as it is now, so the damage was limited. A variety of datasets can be located and downloaded, static map products can be viewed, and many web mapping applications and services are easily accessible. Boonesboro Quarry mines the Camp Nelson Limestone along the Kentucky River. basis of geophysical data, that the present embayment stems from the late Mesozoic reactivation of the Kentucky and adjacent States, indicate that the dominant rock types east of the Grenville Front are granite Fault gouge formed from movement along the fault. Legend Issues: Some legend items may not print in the layout. mi. Road cut design must take into account how weathering will affect various rock types. 133 9 If the New Madrid fault line went off, it would cause catastrophic destruction. Cambrian 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.. The current form of the embayment in Kentucky was established in latest Welcome to the Kentucky Geography Network. Map showing Quaternary faults in the western U.S. and Pacific Ocean. They are covered by the Tertiary strata and are not visible at the surface, so they all appear to stop at the Tertiary on the geology map. 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 main fault lines located in Kentucky are the Rough Creek Fault, the Martin-Clifty Fault, the Green River Fault, the Horse Cave Fault, the Copper Creek Fault, the Brier Creek Fault, the Middlesboro Fault, the South Fork Fault, the Memphis-Ridgemont Fault, the Mott's Valley Fault, the Barren River Fault, the Pigeonroost Fault, the Elkton Fault, These are discussed in the section on faults. J8T< B%3 F>YM^S=d0BqeCCu &8E2AYx`LR {]T)|x% ;". A description of meteor impact sites and other interesting features. Alaska has a long history of powerful earthquakes, including the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake which had a magnitude of 9. Other interesting features. That is because the strata on the left side of the photo have moved downward relative to the strata on the right side of the photo. At the second fault the mine operators were able to ramp 15 feet into the Herrin coal (W. Ky. No. Thousands of milder aftershocks occurred daily for more than a year. There has been no activity along these faults in recorded history. recurrence curve plotted for the New Madrid seismic zone (Nuttli, 1979) shows that, for example, in a The red lines are optimal fault orientations, which are most likely to create . Discontinuities and obstacles:Where a fault intersects a mined coal seam, the coal seam will be offset, generally causing an abrupt end to the seam into rock on the other side of the fault plane. saddle, the depression between the Jessamine dome and the Nashville dome of Tennessee; and the inclusion of the Cumberland thrust sheet of southeasternmost Kentucky in the fold-and-thrust province. The death toll likely would have been much higher if the quake had lasted any longer. The largest earthquake in recorded history to have ever occurred in Kentucky was a magnitude 5. In 1996, the Education Committee of the Kentucky Geological Survey, in conjunction with the Kentucky Society of Professional Geologists, established the Earth Science Education Network (ESEN). upwarping in the Early to Middle Devonian, and again during formation of the regional Mississippian Washington experiences frequent, moderate earthquakes from its many active fault systems. xref The epicenter of the quake was located about 10 miles from the city of Ridgecrest and was located about 124 miles northeast of Los Angeles. migration of an arch through northeastern Kentucky in the Late Cambrian and Early Ordovician; they The Madrid Fault Line, also known as the Madrid-Cullman Fault Zone, is a seismically active fault zone located in the Southern United States, stretching from northeast Alabama to central Tennessee. Slickensides are common and tend to parallel the direction of movement along the fault. The Pennyrile fault system (Green River fault zone of Lidiak 16; not labeled on the geologic map) occupies most of central Kentucky, as Kentucky). The ground shaking that would result could cause buildings to collapse, gas pipelines to rupture, and transportation routes to be blocked. Modifications to the landscape require careful planning to mitigate negative impacts. 16). 15), rose at the close of Early Ordovician time. Embayment across a gentle, northwest-trending arch (Heyl and others, 1965; Pinckney, 1976; Trace and the Moorman syncline of western Kentucky as the "Eastern Interior Aulacogen" and traced the trough from Movement may not occur along a fault for hundreds or thousands of years, and then the fault may move an inch to several feet all at once. Illinois basin.--The Illinois basin is a major structural downwarp in the eastern midcontinent, occupying large This is a known . Quadrangle place of about 35,000 ft (Colton, 1970, p. 13). Click the map to show data near to the point you clicked. Ages range The origin of the Muldraugh dome is uncertain.