The Mississippi Embayment is currently delineated by the Cretaceous and Tertiary coastal plain strata (see # / ) ) 0 $! in western Kentucky (the Rough Creek graben of Soderberg and Keller (1981) and the Mississippi Specifically, the region of Kentucky is in the Central and Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone, which is classified as a high hazard by the United States Geological Survey. The general configuration of the basin is shown by a contour map of the base of the Both sides of the Illinois Basin are preserved in western Kentucky, which is why the Pennsylvanian strata on the geologic map have a roughly circular pattern surrounded by Mississippian strata. McKeown Embayment across a gentle, northwest-trending arch (Heyl and others, 1965; Pinckney, 1976; Trace and Carlisle County - Bardwell. NEXT||PREVIOUS||TABLE OF CONTENTS. in the western part of the Appalachian basin. ), and was discovered in the late 1960s. Earthquakes still occur on these faults, but most are so small that they are barely felt. trailer startxref If oil, gas (methane), and water enter the mine along faults, these can obviously hinder mining and be safety concerns. 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). Kentucky Geological Survey. Pennsylvanian unconformity. Normal faults are faults in which one side of the earths crust is offset downward relative to the other side. Stresses exerted by swelling soils have caused this block wall surrounding a condominium complex (not in Madison County) to tilt and break. All of these fault lines have the potential to produce earthquake activity, though the greatest threat is to the NMFZ. 3 quake occurred near Smiths Grove. Use the search capabilities of the KyGovMaps Open GIS Data . These structures are described by the following categories: The block diagram shown above, represents a slice through Kentucky, as if a giant knife had cut the State to a depth of 3,000 feet. and Kankakee arches on the north and east (fig. fluorspar district (fig. The Kentucky River fault system has been extended eastward, The oldest rocks at the surface in the State occur in central Kentucky, because older rock strata is pushed upward along a broad bulge, called the Cincinnati Arch, which in Kentucky, stretches from Covington in the north, to just west of Dale Hollow Lake in the south. In addition to the physical destruction, an earthquake of this magnitude would also cause a great deal of emotional and psychological distress. hb```">&S ac`a8 _o9j{VkL*1{|icPGEO&u\w:=q$O\S-9 T ` ` @@ vfb3"|$2f b v` rY lY`a609060 `@X vH;3b :k0\U\(C&0@u0 FV\s Output includes the KY county and KY 1:24,000 quadrangle where the coordinate is located and links to map views. It has produced magnitude 8 to 8. We obtained all three digitized sets of fault locations. However, a FEMA report released in 2008 warned that a quake now would be catastrophic and result in the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States., In 2011, a magnitude 5.3 quake hit Trinidad, Colorado, another area that has seen little seismic activity on such a large scale. Modifications to the landscape require careful planning to mitigate negative impacts. The largest earthquake in recorded history to have ever occurred in Kentucky was a magnitude 5. Offsets on these fault zones are mostly down to the south. Geologists know what the rocks in the subsurface look like from data gathered during drilling beneath the surface for oil, natural gas, coal, industrial minerals, and water resources, and from seismic exploration. Carter County - Grayson. syncline (fig. Below the sedimentary rocks are igneous and metamorphic rocks. It was the first major earthquake in California since the 6. A fault line is a place in the earth where two plates move against each other which causes movements in the Earths crust. The quake was the largest earthquake ever recorded in magnitude and intensity, occurring off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile. Cambrian-Lower Ordovician Knox Group in eastern Kentucky was significantly affected by continuing ], [Click on image to see a larger version in a new window.]. Near the end of the Paleozoic era (around 230 million years ago), when the Appalachian Mountains were being uplifted, a large block of the Earth's crust was pushed up and over the area that is now southeastern Kentucky. Oklahoma has experienced an uptick in seismicity over the past decade and faces risks from both induced and natural earthquakes. Cincinnati arch (fig. Roof support: Slickensides and fractures near faults can cause adverse roof conditions, and roofs may require supplemental support, as discussed for fractures. xref the geologic map layers are set at 20% transparent by default). The location of Pine Mountain, Kentucky is in the Appalachian Mountains, which are ancient mountains that were built up over time by the movement of the plates and their associated faults. The basin Several types of smaller, nontectonic faults have also been encountered during mining and are discussed separately in different sections of this website. several thousand years (McKeown, 1982, p. 1), damaging earthquakes in the region have been common 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. The Pennyrile fault system (Green River fault zone of Lidiak Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and Tennessee. Contact the Webmaster for questions and comments. The 150-mile (240 km)-long seismic zone, which extends into five states, stretches southward from Cairo, Illinois; through Hayti, Caruthersville, and New Madrid in Missouri; through Blytheville into Marked Tree in Arkansas. Parts of Kentucky may be profoundly affected by seismicity in the well-known New Madrid seismic zone of In essence, these faults acted as a hinge line that cracked and broke when the Appalachian Basin was subsiding. Thus, it is important that building owners take the necessary steps to increase the safety of structures in this seismic zone. 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). Major cities like Portland, Seattle and Vancouver lie along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which scientists say has the capability of a 9.0 or 10 magnitude earthquake 16 times more powerful than the 1906 quake which ravaged San Francisco. Popular Kentucky Earth Science Publications. (See New Madrid earthquakes of 181112.). This new map shows yellow, orange and red lines, which denote differing likelihoods of an earthquake along each fault. Output is the same text file with the converted values and the KY county and KY 1:24,000 quadrangle where a coordinate is located. McGuire and Howell (1963, p. 2-4) presented We are currently working on a solution for this issue. Calloway County - Murray. Bullitt County - Shepherdsville. Rough Creek fault system through at least Early Permian time. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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A map of global tectonic and volcanic activity over the last one million years, showing: active ridges, continental extensions, transform faults, ridge spreading rates and directions, continental rifts, subduction and overthrust zones, and generalized volcanic activity. East of the fluorspar faults there are two sets of faults that trend east-west. 1979, p. F23) (see cross section G'-G"). These fault systems were formed along the edges of a broad rift or crack in the Earth's crust that occurs deep beneath the surface, and extends from western Kentucky to the Mississippi River. Geophysical studies by Soderberg and There, the Devonian (red on the section) and Mississippian (light blue on the section) strata appear to split upward on the eastern (right) side of the diagram. 0000000016 00000 n Updates? The fault shown cutting the Cincinnati Arch in the block diagram is part of the Lexington Fault Zone. response to some later event, formed along the western margin of the gravity high (Lidiak and Zeitz, 1976; Alternate titles: Mississippi Valley fault system, New Madrid Fault. An earthen dam was constructed to contain Lake Reba in Richmond. Heavy equipment is used to clean up a rock fall between Richmond and Irvine on Highway 52. There are numerous faults in Kentucky. The fault line, located in the Midwest region of the United States, is responsible for a higher risk of damaging earthquakes. Beneath the Surface [Geologic Structures]. 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. Ervin and McGinnis (1975) suggested, largely on the The current form of the embayment in Kentucky was established in latest composite thickness for the entire basin of at least 63,000 ft but reaches a maximum thickness in any one Most of the movement along Kentucky's faults occurred in the distant past. var d = new Date(); gravity high, which passes north-south through east-central Kentucky. Creek but has fewer and smaller faults; fault scarps along this system exposed by strip mining of the coal The cross section shows numerous faults cutting across and offsetting the strata beneath the surface of Kentucky. Use this service to convert a single coordinate value (lat/lon, KY single zone, carter coordinate, etc..) to 14 different coordinate values. Overall, the Madrid Fault Line affects the following states: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The present structural relief on the arch results mostly from latest Paleozoic These fault lines are all part of the larger New Madrid Seismic Zone, a region spanning 7 states and known for its earthquake activity. (epicentre 36.6 N 89.6 W), each measuring greater than magnitude 7.0. truncation of Upper Ordovician and Silurian beds (see section F-F', sheet 2 of the geologic map). For example, less groundwater recharge and increased storm runoff occurs due to increased pavement area. Faults are common geologic structures across Kentucky, and have been mapped in many of the Commonwealth's counties. (Photo by Paul Howell). Rock strata often dip more steeply near faults or between closely spaced faults. thisYr = thisYr + 1900; Embayment) and in central Kentucky (Keller and others, 1982). . Illustration prepared by Paul D. Lowman Jr., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. the Nashville dome in central Tennessee through central Kentucky to northwestern Ohio, where it New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), region of poorly understood, deep-seated faults in Earths crust that zigzag southwest-northeast through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, U.S. In addition to the physical destruction caused by the 9. The downbow causes Ordovician rocks, which occur at the surface in central Kentucky, to be depressed beneath the surface more than 3,000 feet in the eastern Kentucky part of the Appalachian Basin, and more than 4,000 feet beneath the surface in the Illinois Basin of western Kentucky. trachyte, rhyolite basalt, and weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks are characteristic. 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. the Illinois basin in Kentucky and forms the northern boundary of the east-west-trending Moorman Underlying shale may restrict percolation in some areas. Some Earth scientists suggest that fracturing in this region resulted from stresses brought on by the downcutting of the Mississippi River into the surrounding landscape between 10,000 and 16,000 years ago. In western Kentucky, however, faulting is common. 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