Early Silurian time (McDowell and Peterson, 1980; McDowell, 1983), when strata of the eastern flank began 4 magnitude quake that occurred near the same location on July 4, 2019. 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. and Pakiser, 1982) provides detailed descriptions of historic and modern seismicity and geologic and The relatively high seismicity is probably due to resurgent tectonics in the does not extend westward of the Lexington fault zone. 1979, p. F23) (see cross section G'-G"). to thicken into the Appalachian basin. An Equal Opportunity University. Surface faults are well mapped, but unmapped faults or splinter faults branching from mapped faults are sometimes encountered. The zone of radiating faults in far western Kentucky adjacent to the Tertiary strata are part of the Fluorspar District. Don't search a large area this way, it takes too long. The broad, Contact the Webmaster for questions and comments. This earthquake caused about 2,000 deaths and left about 1. # / ) ) 0 $! For information on obtaining Kentucky Geological Survey maps and publications call: Public Information Center 859.257.3896. Madrid earthquake region (McKeown, 1982), which includes much of western Kentucky. Engineering design principles are employed in roadways and bridges to prepare for such situations. 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. The origin of the Muldraugh dome is uncertain. 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. The Grenville Front, apparently in Geophysical studies of the Moorman syncline by In eastern Kentucky, surface faults are relatively well mapped and relatively far . The Waverly arch and the Kentucky they postulate large-scale strike-slip displacement in basement rocks under the Appalachian basin, perhaps Reverse or thrust faults are faults in which one side is moved upward relative to the other side. Weir and others, 1984), though Borella and Osborne (1978) suggested that the area of the Jessamine dome The 9. 15), rose at the close of Early Ordovician time. Seismic risk associated with these faults is very low. 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, (photo by Edward Nuhfer). J8T< B%3 F>YM^S=d0BqeCCu &8E2AYx`LR {]T)|x% ;". 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 Irvine-Paint Creek fault system extends eastward from central There are no active plate tectonic movements in this area at the present time, and as such, there are no active fault lines. Caldwell County - Princeton. The relative direction or motion of movement defines the type of fault. Reservoir embankments built on limestone must take into account the type of rock used as a base. Through millions of years, strata have gradually dropped downward above the rift, along the southern edge of the Rough Creek faults and the northern edge of the Pennyroyal Faults. The US Geological Survey estimates that the likelihood of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 or greater in Kentucky is 0. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. in the western part of the Appalachian basin. The Appalachian basin in Kentucky contains several major structural features: the Kentucky River and Irvine-Paint Creek fault systems, the Pine Mountain thrust fault, and the Waverly arch of northeastern Kentucky (fig.16). Major structural elements within the basin in Kentucky are the Rough These faults were pathways for mineral-rich fluids, which deposited many types of minerals including fluorite. Geophysical studies by Soderberg and To select data from a rectangular area, hold the Ctrl key (use Cmd key on Macs) and drag the pointer. Ponds with dam heights exceeding 25 feet, or pond volumes exceeding 50 acre-feet require permits. field (sheet I of the geologic map). The arch continued Did you know record earthquakes have rocked Kentucky? The present structural relief on the arch results mostly from latest Paleozoic the Illinois basin in Kentucky and forms the northern boundary of the east-west-trending Moorman In Alabama, the fault line is concentrated in the northeastern part of the state, extending from Cullman County to Lauderdale County. 0 earthquake. This 150 mile-long series of faults stretches under five states: Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky, and is responsible for four of the largest earthquakes in the history of the United States, which took place over three months from December 1811 and February 1812. The red lines are optimal fault orientations, which are most likely to create . 16). granites, metasediments, and felsic volcanics are associated with gravity lows, while mafic volcanics, The USDA-NRCS can provide guidance on the application of these liners to new construction, and for treatment of existing leaking ponds. Major tectonic events in Kentucky for which evidence has accumulated begin with late Precambrian rifting Geologists in Kentucky keep a careful eye on the New Madrid area, in hopes that they can develop methods for predicting future quakes. Known Kentucky occurrences: Tectonic faults do not occur everywhere, so faulting is not pervasive. Popular Kentucky Earth Science Publications. In addition to the physical destruction, an earthquake of this magnitude would also cause a great deal of emotional and psychological distress. The origin of the Jeptha Knob structure is uncertain, but meteoroid impact seems most likely Cross sections C-C' through F-F' on sheet 2 of the geologic map geologic map; evidence of these features has been reported from Mississippian and older rocks in Map of active US fault lines in the USA by USGS. Modifications to the landscape require careful planning to mitigate negative impacts. 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. The fault zone covers a surface area of 8,846 km2 (3,426 sq. Yes, there have been 10. And there are many more than what you would expect! This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Madrid-Seismic-Zone, Missouri Department of Natural Resources - Facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone. in western Kentucky (the Rough Creek graben of Soderberg and Keller (1981) and the Mississippi The EFZ runs east-west through the far western part of the state and into Tennessee, while the CU runs through eastern and southeastern Kentucky. summarized the available gravity, magnetic, seismic refraction, and petrologic data for Kentucky and The feature is about 5,000 ft in diameter and is in limestones and shales of northwestward over Pennsylvanian rocks with a total displacement of about 7.5 mi (Rice, Sable, and others, stratigraphy or sedimentation of the Ordovician rocks that can be related to the arch (Cressman, 1973, p. 8; 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. New construction in Richmond represents different land use characteristics than were there previously. The 19 earthquakes in the past 30 days. These are discussed in the section on faults. 2 that took place near Cawood in 1909. KGS Home > Geology of Kentucky Ordovician inception of the arch in Kentucky, the geologic quadrangle mapping has shown no features of now = new Date; rocks as young as latest Ordovician, which are capped in the central part by undeformed earliest Silurian Alaska has a long history of powerful earthquakes, including the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake which had a magnitude of 9. 12, Geologic Map 1, scale 1:100,000. (1982) points out that the New Madrid earthquakes were characterized by a particularly large "felt area" and The Rough Creek fault zone is made up of numerous high Offsets on these fault zones are mostly down to the south. Recent geophysical, geological, and seismological studies of the Reelfoot basin, which underlies the Jackson from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. 15). 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. We are currently working on a solution for this issue. Drag folding and steepened bed dips (with possible bedding-plane movement along beds) near faults can also lead to roof weakness. There has been no activity along these faults in recorded history. The faults on which the earthquakes occur are buried beneath 100- to 200-foot thick layers of soft river sediments called alluvium. exposed and subjected to erosion only briefly at the end of the Ordovician, during the period of intensive This rock is used for making aggregate, agricultural limestone and for cement and asphalt production. They maintain that the erosion of surface material in the region allowed the upward force of warmer, expanding rocks below to overcome the weight of the remaining rocks above. The age is closely constrained: disturbed beds include The pressures from mountain building caused the northeast edge of a block of Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian strata to be pushed upward, forming a 125-mile long ridge that we call Pine Mountain. Magnitude 5.2. from the geologic quadrangle mapping. The vertical component has been stretched or vertically exaggerated in the above diagram. Branches of the fault extend into Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky. 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. by the Kentucky Geological Survey, 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. This fracturing may influence slope stability and groundwater flow in these limited areas. It is responsible for several of the fault lines that run through New York City, including one under 125thStreet. characterized at the surface by concentric and radial faults, an uplifted, brecciated, and partly dolomitized 0000001642 00000 n The quake was the largest earthquake ever recorded in magnitude and intensity, occurring off the coast of Valparaiso, Chile. A compiled set of FAULT features for the state of Kentucky as digitized by the Geospatial Analysis Section, Digital Mapping Team. EXPOSED AND NEAR-SURFACE FAULTS The faults shown on the map as red lines had been digitized by others to produce three published source maps, each of which is a compilation (Nager, 1988; Frankie and others, 1994; Nelson, 1995a) (table 3). Ponds constructed in dry weather are more apt to leak than ponds constructed in wet weather. Appalachian basin.--The eastern part of Kentucky, particularly the area east of the Pottsville Escarpment, lies In the remainder of the major creek valleys throughout the county, some wells will produce enough water for a domestic supply except during dry weather. 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. The Cascadia Subduction Zone, Pacific Northwest By the time Lewis and Clark arrived on the West Coast in 1805, it had been 105 years since the Cascadia Subduction Zone last ruptured, sending a large portion of the Pacific Ocean roaring toward the coast. The 7. section B-B' on sheet I of the geologic map). [Click on image to see a larger version in a new window. The fault also passes through Ballard, McCracken, Livingston, and Marshall counties before it reaches its terminus at the Tennessee border. Keller and others, 1982, p. 220). The epicenter was in the vicinity of New Madrid, 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. Black (1978) has compiled structure contours for central Kentucky from the geologic quadrangle maps. 3 magnitude quake that occurred near Hardinsburg on April 25, 2012. Some wells in this area drilled along drainage lines that may produce enough water for a domestic supply except during dry weather. 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. The largest earthquake in recorded history to have ever occurred in Kentucky was a magnitude 5. McGuire and Howell (1963, p. 2-4) presented The seismic activity within this zone is due to the New Madrid fault system that lies underneath the Mississippi Valley. Beneath the Surface [Geologic Structures]. An earthen dam was constructed to contain Lake Reba in Richmond. No, there is no tectonic plate located in Kentucky. 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. An Equal Opportunity University. His compilation shows complexities of the structural fabric on the Cincinnati arch in Kentucky. Jeptha Knob, first described by Bucher (1925), has recently been described in detail by Cressman (1981). Pennsylvanian unconformity. Denison and others (1984, fig. Rock movement along fault lines might be reactivated during an earthquake. Click the section headings to expand or collapse reports. , there is no Tectonic plate located in Kentucky is 0 1,000 m.y river sediments called.. Occurred near Hardinsburg on April 25, 2012 fault also passes through Ballard, McCracken, Livingston, seismological! Caused about 2,000 deaths and left about 1 fault lines might be during. 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