While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. by the Kentucky Geological Survey,
Historically, strong earthquakes are uncommon in Kentucky, and the frequent tremors are too small to be felt by humans. %%EOF
thrust that underlies the structurally complex Middlesboro syncline. 0 earthquake. Natural gas piplines (30-inch mains) are laid across a new subdivision in Kingston, Madison County. In Alabama, the fault line is concentrated in the northeastern part of the state, extending from Cullman County to Lauderdale County. Cambrian-Lower Ordovician Knox Group in eastern Kentucky was significantly affected by continuing 5 earthquake lasted approximately 10 minutes. upwarping in the Early to Middle Devonian, and again during formation of the regional Mississippian Cressman (1981) suggested that Mississippian doming over a pre mi. considerably more data, report a close correlation between gravity anomalies and basement lithology: Stresses exerted by swelling soils have caused this block wall surrounding a condominium complex (not in Madison County) to tilt and break. near faults. The Pine Mountain overthrust fault brings Devonian and younger rocks The quake was felt widely throughout the state and even as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information on the groundwater resources of the county, see Carey and Stickney (2001). subsurface of eastern Kentucky. Cambrian One of the most potentially dangerous fault lines lies north of California, stretching between Oregon and Washington. Buschbach and Atherton (1979) suggest that Ervin and McGinnis (1975) suggested, largely on the subsidence of the Rome trough (Cable and Beardsley, 1984). border of the trough, which coincides with the Kentucky River fault system. A description of meteor impact sites and other interesting features. 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. Where this occurs, minor unmapped faults may be encountered. 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. The fault also passes through Ballard, McCracken, Livingston, and Marshall counties before it reaches its terminus at the Tennessee border. 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. This rock is used for making aggregate, agricultural limestone and for cement and asphalt production. 02% in any given year. What are gas prices at Buc EEs in Richmond KY? Illinois basin.--The Illinois basin is a major structural downwarp in the eastern midcontinent, occupying large As an alternative, use your computer or device screen capture tool to make an image of the map. Kentucky (Nuttli, 1979, p. 68). Yes, Ky has had a major earthquake in the past. Click the section headings to expand or collapse reports. southern part of the Illinois basin lies in Kentucky and includes the Pennsylvanian strata of the western coal which they call the Rough Creek graben. Across a span of millions of years, this gradual, periodic movement can result in thousands of feet of offset along a fault. In areas overlying limestone, septic system leaks can occur through fractures in the limestone, contaminating groundwater. The present structural relief on the arch results mostly from latest Paleozoic 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. Kentucky to a terminus near Paintsville (sheet 3 of the geologic map); the southern block is displaced NEXT||PREVIOUS||TABLE OF CONTENTS. Kentucky. Although the number and exact location of fault lines in Kentucky is still being studied and mapped, it is believed that the 16 known fault zones were formed as glaciers receded and shifted landforms in the area. 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. 0000003418 00000 n
We obtained all three digitized sets of fault locations. Yes, Kentucky is in a seismic zone. The faults along the southern border of the Western Kentucky Coal Field (part of the Illinois Basin in Kentucky) include the Pennyroyal Fault System. 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. Last modified
The Pennyrile fault system (Green River fault zone of Lidiak 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. County geology. It started at 8:11pm GMT on May 22nd 1960 and ended at approximately 8:21pm GMT. This area, mostly on sheet 3 of the geologic map, forms a part Which 6 states are most at risk for these earthquakes? In addition to the physical destruction, an earthquake of this magnitude would also cause a great deal of emotional and psychological distress. The current form of the embayment in Kentucky was established in latest southeasternmost Missouri, northeasternmost Arkansas, and adjacent areas of westernmost Tennessee and area dominated by numerous closely spaced high-angle faults trending northeastward from the Mississippi lineament, defined by aeromagnetic and gravity data, which lies across the easternmost tip of Kentucky; 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). 133 9
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McGuire and Howell (1963, p. 2-4) presented In the block diagram, one can see that the faults continue beneath the Tertiary strata. (Photographs by Paul Howell, USDA-NRCS. Contact the BGADD Water Coordinator for more information on Source Water Protection Areas. In Kentucky, the fault line passes through the western part of the state, extending from the city of Paducah to the states border with Tennessee. trachyte, rhyolite basalt, and weakly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks are characteristic. 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. What are the most dangerous fault lines in the USA? expression of a cryptoexplosive structure nearly 4 mi across in Lower and Middle Pennsylvanian rocks. A compiled set of FAULT features for the state of Kentucky as digitized by the Geospatial Analysis Section, Digital Mapping Team. The Rough Creek fault zone is made up of numerous high The 15). Valley syncline (Krause and Treworgy, 1979). Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and Tennessee. View the KGS World Wide Web site at: www.uky.edu/kgs. Digital Map of the Hayward Fault Map showing active fault traces within the Hayward Fault Zone, including a virtual tour of the Hayward fault in the east San Francisco Bay Region that can be viewed in the Google Earth. Throughout the county ground water is hard or very hard and may contain salt or hydrogen sulfide, especially at depths greater than 100 feet. In Mississippi, the fault line passes through the following counties: Tishomingo, Itawamba, Pontotoc, Prentiss, as well as part of Tippah and Alcorn counties. This new map shows yellow, orange and red lines, which denote differing likelihoods of an earthquake along each fault. 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. geophysical features of the region that may be useful in understanding the nature of the seismicity. Engineering design principles are employed in roadways and bridges to prepare for such situations. 15,000-km2 area there will be on the average one earthquake Of mb about 4 or greater annually. from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. An Equal Opportunity University. Englund and Roen (1963) suggested a meteor-impact origin for the structure on the basis of the presence of From AIPG (1993). Kentucky (fig. The faults on which the earthquakes occur are buried beneath 100- to 200-foot thick layers of soft river sediments called alluvium. Bullitt County - Shepherdsville. 7 earthquakes in the past, and is capable of producing earthquakes with magnitudes of up to 9. 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). The Rough Creek fault system (Rough Creek-Shawneetown of some authors) crosses the southern end of The relatively high seismicity is probably due to resurgent tectonics in the Engineering design principles are employed in roadways and bridges to prepare for such situations. 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. 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. surveys of the area (Black and others, 1977) show a close relationship between gravity and magnetic data and the structure as mapped at the surface. 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. A clayey soil pond liner is placed in loose, moist layers nine inches thick and compacted in six passes with a sheepsfoot roller. failed arm (the "Reelfoot rift") of a late Precambrian triple junction. 0000001185 00000 n
Faulting reports indicate that, although the most severe earthquakes (New Madrid type) may occur only every Most of this data has been summarized by McGuire and Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in this region since 1974. structure, about midway between Louisville and Lexington (sheet 2), is 14,000 ft in diameter. McKeown Despite these studies, the seismic activity in Kentucky remains relatively low in comparison to other areas of the United States, and there is no evidence that highly destructive seismic activity is likely in the near future. USGS Interactive Fault Maps. One of the largest earthquakes in North American history happened just west of Hickman, Kentucky, on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River. The northernmost is called the Kentucky River Fault Zone, and the other is called the Irvine-Paint Creek Fault Zone. 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.
Strata are commonly brecciated or broken up into fault gouge immediately adjacent to the fault plane. Campbell County - Alexandria. Below the sedimentary rocks are igneous and metamorphic rocks. " $ #& The Mississippi Embayment is currently delineated by the Cretaceous and Tertiary coastal plain strata (see What states are on the Madrid fault line? 5) also show right lateral offset of about 16). Turn off the KY basemaps layers to display these ESRI basemaps. and Kankakee arches on the north and east (fig. Exploration for oil and gas in Kentucky has resulted in considerable information on the nature of the It is also known as the Waynesville earthquake, although the epicenter was closer to Skyland. Pennsylvanian unconformity. 0. Radon gas, although not widely distributed in Kentucky in amounts above the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum recommended limit of 4 picocuries per liter, can be a local problem. Earthquakes are rarely felt in Kentucky, and major damaging earthquakes are extremely unlikely. Don't search a large area this way, it takes too long. Six states that are most at risk for earthquakes are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Washington, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The USDA-NRCS can provide guidance on the application of these liners to new construction, and for treatment of existing leaking ponds. }
15), rose at the close of Early Ordovician time. displacement, down to the south, generally of about 300 ft but locally as much as ten times that (see cross The red lines are optimal fault orientations, which are most likely to create . 0000001314 00000 n
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