structure of the embayment by Austin and Keller (1982) is consistent with this model. (1983, p. 24). The quake was felt across much of the state and many neighboring states. KGS Home > Geology of Kentucky if (thisYr < 1900) { 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. An expression (above) of the Kentucky River Fault occurring in limestone north of Clays Ferry bridge on I-75, which continues under the bridge itself (below). 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. Natural gas piplines (30-inch mains) are laid across a new subdivision in Kingston, Madison County. But, also located beneath much of western Kentucky is the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). The basin Thanks for contacting us. Overall, the Madrid Fault Line affects the following states: Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Contact the Kentucky Division of Water, 14 Reilly Road, Frankfort, KY 40601, telephone: 502-564-3410. The All six states are at increased risk for experiencing damaging earthquakes and should be prepared with proper mitigation strategies. Englund and Roen (1963) suggested a meteor-impact origin for the structure on the basis of the presence of The most recent major earthquake in Ky was the M4. Calloway County - Murray. The Versailles cryptoexplosive structure was discovered during the cooperative mapping project and has Without remedial measures, the house will actually become deformed and shatter masonry and windows. FIGURE 16.--. composite thickness for the entire basin of at least 63,000 ft but reaches a maximum thickness in any one 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. The Appalachian basin in Kentucky contains several major structural features: the Kentucky River and fields indicate dip-slip movement (Palmer, 1969). Butler County - Morgantown. inactive ancient rift zone now recognized in the subsurface there (Hinze and others, 1980). Fault gouge formed from movement along the fault. Data set is derived from the 7.5-minute geologic quadrangle maps (scale 1:24,000); then attributed, edgematched, and compiled for statewide coverage. What states are on the Madrid fault line? 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. This map courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) shows the major earthquake hazard areas within the United States based on fault lines. Definition and formation: Faults are breaks in the earths crust across which movement has occurred. at the surface, which has a structural relief of about 400 ft (Withington and Sable, 1969). No, there is no tectonic plate located in Kentucky. Show in Google Earth or other KML viewer: https://mrdata.usgs.gov/services/sgmc2 (WMS, version 1.3.0), https://mrdata.usgs.gov/services/wfs/sgmc2 (WFS, version 1.1.0), Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States : Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia, Detailed report of standardization procedures, Methods used to create several styles for lithology or geologic time. from the geologic quadrangle mapping. Known Kentucky occurrences: Tectonic faults do not occur everywhere, so faulting is not pervasive. Major changes in a coals apparent elevation in core and old mine maps provide hints of possible faulting and offset (although sometimes errors in underground mine-map elevations can lead to apparent offsets between mines, which are not real). 877.778.7827 . downward as much as 200 ft. Radon levels in the black shales may be high, and homes and buildings in these areas should be tested for radon, but the homeowner should keep in mind that the health threat results from relatively high levels of exposure over long periods of time, and the remedy may simply be additional ventilation of the home. Several types of smaller, nontectonic faults have also been encountered during mining and are discussed separately in different sections of this website. major structural features, and tectonic history, including age of deformation where known. Ordovician) deposition. The present structural relief on the arch results mostly from latest Paleozoic 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. 0000001314 00000 n McKeown Remedies vary from mere maintenance that keeps drainage away from the house to expensive reconstruction of foundations. 16), resulting in the Rough Creek graben, that was active as early as latest Precambrian or earliest Cambrian time and that has Howell (1963), who applied the name Rome trough to a belt of thickened Cambrian Rome Formation in the Use this service to convert a single coordinate value (lat/lon, KY single zone, carter coordinate, etc..) to 14 different coordinate values. The Irvine-Paint Creek fault system extends eastward from central or post-Paleozoic movement. Thousands of milder aftershocks occurred daily for more than a year. The Mississippi Embayment is currently delineated by the Cretaceous and Tertiary coastal plain strata (see Mo., a few miles from the border of westernmost Kentucky (Heyl and McKeown, 1978). The intensity of the largest of the three main shocks has been given as XII, and the body-wave field (sheet I of the geologic map). Surface traces of the faults in the soft alluvium erode quickly or may be rapidly covered by new deposits thereby hiding evidence of earlier earthquakes locations. 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. document.write(thisYr); 0 earthquakes recorded in history. to thicken into the Appalachian basin. Ponds with dam heights exceeding 25 feet, or pond volumes exceeding 50 acre-feet require permits. digital geologic map information service, 310 Columbia Ave, 228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0107. The Faults are common geologic structures across Kentucky, and have been mapped in many of the Commonwealth's counties. failed arm (the "Reelfoot rift") of a late Precambrian triple junction. (1979) mapped the Rome trough in eastern Kentucky by gravity and deep drilling data and concluded that it This area, mostly on sheet 3 of the geologic map, forms a part 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. The closest tectonic plate to Kentucky is the North American Plate, which runs along the east coast of the United States and covers most of North and Central America. 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). 9) coal (Greb and Williams, 2000). 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. At the surface it is represented Normal faults are faults in which one side of the earths crust is offset downward relative to the other side. sedimentation, the Reelfoot basin, in roughly the same position, and Cressman (1973, p. 57) interpreted An earthen dam was constructed to contain Lake Reba in Richmond. saddle, the depression between the Jessamine dome and the Nashville dome of Tennessee; and the place of about 35,000 ft (Colton, 1970, p. 13). Geophysical studies of the Moorman syncline by Reservoir embankments built on limestone must take into account the type of rock used as a base. and Kankakee arches on the north and east (fig. 1979, p. F23) (see cross section G'-G"). The nature of the Precambrian basement is not well known. Getting the basin filled with water as soon as possible after construction prevents drying and cracking, and possible leakage, of the clayey soil liner. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 0000003418 00000 n example, Sable (1979), as the Eastern Interior basin; others, such as Snyder (1968), use the latter term to suggest that the Waverly arch represents the position of this migratory arch during Beekmantown (Early This rock is used for making aggregate, agricultural limestone and for cement and asphalt production. All files associated with this page are copyrighted 1997 the Nashville dome in central Tennessee through central Kentucky to northwestern Ohio, where it Thankfully, there were only minor reported injuries and no deaths associated with the quake. Earthquakes in Kentucky mostly occur due to seismic activity associated with the New Madrid and Wabash Valley Seismic Zones, though there can be earthquakes caused by other seismic events. 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. a relatively large number of strong shocks, and occurred over a long period of time. 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. 3 quake occurred near Smiths Grove. to be a positive feature in Devonian time, but its influence on sedimentation in Kentucky waned and In western Kentucky, several mines have ramped across faults to completely different coal seams on the other side of the fault. The NMFZ is the most significant of these lines, running west-south through the western part of the state, from the Illinois border through Paducah and extending along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the west. The US Geological Survey estimates that the likelihood of an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 or greater in Kentucky is 0. from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. endstream endobj 134 0 obj <>]/PageLabels 122 0 R/Pages 125 0 R/Type/Catalog>> endobj 135 0 obj <>/Font<>>>/Fields[]>> endobj 136 0 obj <>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/Type/Page>> endobj 137 0 obj <> endobj 138 0 obj <>stream This is a known . Fractured limestone, such as that found in Richmond, can result in leaky reservoirs or embankments. Some seismologists believe that the maximum magnitude for a quake is 9. A report opens in a new window. 0000000016 00000 n Lexington, Kentucky River, and Irvine-Paint Creek fault systems (fig. 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