Geological Survey OF-89-0106, Plate 11, 151 p. Carey, D.I., and Stickney, J.F., 2001, Ground-water resources of Madison County, Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, Open-file Report OF-01-73, 30 p. Blue Grass Area Development District, 2003. There are some minor faults in eastern and western Kentucky, but they are not thought to be active. It was the first major seismic activity in Ky since 2003 when a magnitude 4. 12, Geologic Map 1, scale 1:100,000. A recent seismic study of the crustal from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. Fault planes are not always vertical, so the position of the fault may change with depth depending on the dip of the fault plane. The relative direction or motion of movement defines the type of fault. Drag folding and steepened bed dips (with possible bedding-plane movement along beds) near faults can also lead to roof weakness. basis of geophysical data, that the present embayment stems from the late Mesozoic reactivation of the The Jessamine dome (fig. (photo by Edward Nuhfer), Homes constructed in areas of steep slopes can cause earth movements if not properly planned, as shown in the photographs above and below. angle normal faults and less common reverse faults bounding a series of grabens and horsts, with a total 1979, p. F23) (see cross section G'-G"). Right: With time, expanding soils exert several tons per square foot of pressure on the foundation and shallow pilings. (epicentre 36.6 N 89.6 W), each measuring greater than magnitude 7.0. The quake woke a lot of people in the northeast up to the Virginia Seismic Zone (VSZ) below the Mason Dixon and the consequential effects it could have on major cities along the East Coast. The Appalachian basin in Kentucky contains several major structural features: the Kentucky River and major structural features, and tectonic history, including age of deformation where known. Fault gouge is commonly mineralized. Beneath the Surface [Geologic Structures]. 02% in any given year. 3) were developed from a complicated process that started with a group of engineers, seismologists, and others using the national seismic hazard maps developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and engineering science. Rough Creek fault system through at least Early Permian time. The fact is most states are at risk of major . Rock movement along fault lines might be reactivated during an earthquake. The basin failed arm (the "Reelfoot rift") of a late Precambrian triple junction. the geologic map layers are set at 20% transparent by default). Notify me of follow-up comments by email. and the structure as mapped at the surface. southeasternmost Missouri, northeasternmost Arkansas, and adjacent areas of westernmost Tennessee and FIGURE 15.--Structural setting of the eastern midcontinent. response to some later event, formed along the western margin of the gravity high (Lidiak and Zeitz, 1976; several thousand years (McKeown, 1982, p. 1), damaging earthquakes in the region have been common Successful pond construction must prevent water from seeping through structured soils into limestone solution channels below. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Six states that are most at risk for earthquakes are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Washington, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. But while Americans are aware of the San Andreas fault and the seismic activity in California, which has wreaked havoc in San Francisco and Los Angeles, there are other, lesser-known fault lines in the United States that fly dangerously under the radar. Its not just the Virginia Seismic Zone New Yorkers have to worry about. 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. Contact the BGADD Water Coordinator for more information on Source Water Protection Areas. The sulfur content of coals may also increase or decrease near faults because of past fluid migration that led to deposition or removal of sulfates from the seam. In addition to the physical destruction caused by the 9. Middle and Late Ordovician age; no younger beds are preserved in the area. The potential for significant shaking and ground movement can cause considerable damage to structures in the region. Virginia (Dever and others, 1977). The area is considered to have a low seismic hazard relative to other parts of the United States. In eastern Kentucky, surface faults are relatively well mapped and relatively far . Cincinnati arch (fig. Popular Kentucky Earth Science Publications. (photo by Edward Nuhfer). An Equal Opportunity University. Geophysical In essence, these faults acted as a hinge line that cracked and broke when the Appalachian Basin was subsiding. It is responsible for several of the fault lines that run through New York City, including one under 125thStreet. The Versailles cryptoexplosive structure was discovered during the cooperative mapping project and has 0 earthquake. Seismologists say we can expect the next one any day now. Fun times! J8T< B%3 F>YM^S=d0BqeCCu &8E2AYx`LR {]T)|x% ;". Kentucky Geological Survey. 2 that took place near Cawood in 1909. Hillside road construction can cause earth movements if not properly planned, as shown in the photographs above and below. Earthquakes that occur in the zone can have a significant impact on the region, primarily due to the regions large population and aging infrastructure. 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, View the KGS World Wide Web site at: www.uky.edu/kgs. The most powerful earthquake to be ever recorded was a 9. Tennessee and Alabama. Kentucky is one of the top ten limestone producers in the country. Early Silurian time (McDowell and Peterson, 1980; McDowell, 1983), when strata of the eastern flank began labeled on the geologic map, but it appears as a small, round outcrop area of the Muldraugh Member of the 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. 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. upwarping in the Early to Middle Devonian, and again during formation of the regional Mississippian 8, with anything past that not being measureable or happening at all. 877.778.7827 (toll free). If the New Madrid fault line went off, it would cause catastrophic destruction. Although some reports indicate an Early If faults were active just after peat/coal accumulation, roof rocks may change rock type or thickness across faults. The boundary between these two structural provinces, 0000000879 00000 n California experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, many of which cause moderate to significant damage. A recently assembled series of studies on the New Madrid region (McKeown This print tool currently honors the default opacity/transparency of each layer (if you change the opacity of a layer, the updated rendering will NOT be printed). This area, mostly on sheet 3 of the geologic map, forms a part From AIPG (1993). Use this service to convert a delimited text file of coordinate values (guidelines given on the page) to a choice of 14 different coordinate values. 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. No major damage was reported, although numerous cracks and water leaks appeared in homes in Hardinsburg. Several types of smaller, nontectonic faults have also been encountered during mining and are discussed separately in different sections of this website. } does not extend westward of the Lexington fault zone. 0000001550 00000 n 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. lineament, defined by aeromagnetic and gravity data, which lies across the easternmost tip of Kentucky; Ervin and McGinnis (1975) suggested, largely on the Below the sedimentary rocks are igneous and metamorphic rocks. Other leakage prevention measures include synthetic liners, bentonite, and asphaltic emulsions. The following brief descriptions of the four structural provinces include discussions of their regional setting, Lexington (sheet 2 of the geologic map), near the axis of the Cincinnati arch (fig. 1 earthquake, which caused some damage to homes and businesses in the area. No, there is no tectonic plate located in Kentucky. 0000001642 00000 n The resulting power outages, liquefaction, and flooding would further add to the destruction. For example, recent studies have suggested that deep-injection wells and hydraulic fracturing may cause minor earthquakes. Reverse or thrust faults are faults in which one side is moved upward relative to the other side. mapping has revealed numerous minor normal faults and grabens, many en echelon in northwest-trending The Irvine-Paint Creek fault system extends eastward from central There are numerous faults in Kentucky. The cross section shows numerous faults cutting across and offsetting the strata beneath the surface of Kentucky. 19 earthquakes in the past 30 days. No, earthquakes arent particularly rare in Kentucky. sparse data on samples from the nine basement test wells. This structure is not What are the most dangerous fault lines in the USA? Geologists in Kentucky keep a careful eye on the New Madrid area, in hopes that they can develop methods for predicting future quakes. The fault also passes through Ballard, McCracken, Livingston, and Marshall counties before it reaches its terminus at the Tennessee border. The arch thus separates the Appalachian basin This is called a fault. The Versailles structure is about 10 mi west of The debate over the maximum magnitudes of earthquakes is still ongoing and there has yet to be a definitive answer as the exact measurement of magnitude is hard to pin down due to the strength of the tectonic plates in different areas. When strata moves along a fault an earthquake occurs. Yes, Ky has had a major earthquake in the past. Illinois basin.--The Illinois basin is a major structural downwarp in the eastern midcontinent, occupying large The GFZ runs north-south through central Kentucky, stretching from near Louisville eastward to the Appalachian foothills. the presence of an ancestral Mississippi Embayment. The Mississippi Embayment is currently delineated by the Cretaceous and Tertiary coastal plain strata (see 2 of the geologic map; the Irvine-Paint Creek fault system extends well into sheet 3 as well. Kentucky (Nuttli, 1979, p. 68). Major structural elements within the basin in Kentucky are the Rough It. initiation of the Illinois and Appalachian basins. and Zietz, 1976), marking the southern boundary of the Moorman syncline, is similar in form to the Rough Harris (1978) combined the Rome trough with However, there is some debate over whether or not there has actually been a 10. Lying in the central area of the North American Plate, the seismic zone is about 45 miles (70 km) wide and about 125 miles (200 km) long. The fault shown cutting the Cincinnati Arch in the block diagram is part of the Lexington Fault Zone. zones and some associated with dolomitization (Black and Haney, 1975). 0 It also covers a part of West Tennessee, near Reelfoot Lake, extending southeast into Dyersburg. Usually, movements along faults are not great at any one time. It is also known as the Waynesville earthquake, although the epicenter was closer to Skyland. The It has produced magnitude 8 to 8. Thousands of milder aftershocks occurred daily for more than a year. Ponds constructed in dry weather are more apt to leak than ponds constructed in wet weather. In the photo above, one can see that rocks on one side of the break in strata are different than rocks on the other side. Noger, M.C., compiler, 1988, Geologic map of Kentucky: sesquicenntennial edition of the Kentucky Geological Survey: U.S. Geological Survey and the Kentucky Geological Survey, scale 1:500,000. Valley syncline (Krause and Treworgy, 1979). HWmo6_0|I(8JSKN jSmEc&q2Hxsw:Bc$SLHqm(cd?v%:X(rx7LPd)sT|'r|K:G% _ c%*H4'%QH%o;desKS*9."|\ '-[QoE0(Z7`R While stronger quakes can still occur, they are rare and damage is usually minimal. Two fault zones split from the Lexington Fault Zone eastward into the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field (part of the Appalachian Basin). . Keller (1981) indicate that the Moorman syncline is underlain by a large graben, which they name the bifurcates to form the Kankakee and Findlay arches (fig. In the fall of 1996, ESEN was expanded to provide resources from around the globe using the World Wide Web. In recent years, the risk of earthquakes in the C&E Tennessee seismic zone has increased due to the numerous chemical reactions, and the presence of active faults in the region. 16). A description of meteor impact sites and other interesting features. FIGURE 16.--. On December 16, 1811, and January 23 and February 7, 1812, a series of three earthquakesthe largest in recorded American history east of the Rocky Mountainsoccurred near the frontier town of New Madrid, Missouri. Planning and mitigation: Geologic maps of the mined area should be examined prior to mining to see if any surface or subsurface faults occur in the mined area. Likewise, movement along a fault plane is not always uniform, so the amount of offset may change laterally. Click the section headings to expand or collapse reports. The fault zone covers a surface area of 8,846 km2 (3,426 sq. Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and Tennessee. Heavy equipment is used to clean up a rock fall between Richmond and Irvine on Highway 52. Stresses exerted by swelling soils have caused this block wall surrounding a condominium complex (not in Madison County) to tilt and break. The general configuration of the basin is shown by a contour map of the base of the The quake occurred at 8:59 am local time and was felt from Jackson to the west, into Indiana and further east to Berea. Without remedial measures, the house will actually become deformed and shatter masonry and windows. " $ #& It's by far the largest earthquake ever to strike the United States east of the Rockies. thisYr = thisYr + 1900; However, there have been seismic readings taken from areas like the Indian Ocean that have recorded seismic readings of up to 10. 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