Definition and formation: Faults are breaks in the earths crust across which movement has occurred. from about 1,500 to about 1,000 m.y. 3 quake occurred near Smiths Grove. 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. xref A compiled set of FAULT features for the state of Kentucky as digitized by the Geospatial Analysis Section, Digital Mapping Team. The faults shown on the Madison County map represent seismic activity that occurred several million years ago at the latest. Kentucky). (1979) mapped the Rome trough in eastern Kentucky by gravity and deep drilling data and concluded that it The seismic activity within this zone is due to the New Madrid fault system that lies underneath the Mississippi Valley. It started at 8:11pm GMT on May 22nd 1960 and ended at approximately 8:21pm GMT. 8, with anything past that not being measureable or happening at all. regional facies relationships of the Lexington Limestone of central Kentucky and adjacent States as implying 15). Notify me of follow-up comments by email. The 7. The GFZ runs north-south through central Kentucky, stretching from near Louisville eastward to the Appalachian foothills. It has produced magnitude 8 to 8. Faults are common geologic structures across Kentucky, and have been mapped in many of the Commonwealth's counties. 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. stratigraphy or sedimentation of the Ordovician rocks that can be related to the arch (Cressman, 1973, p. 8; Carter County - Grayson. Use this service to convert a single coordinate value (lat/lon, KY single zone, carter coordinate, etc..) to 14 different coordinate values. . [Click on image to see a larger version in a new window. Known Kentucky occurrences: Tectonic faults do not occur everywhere, so faulting is not pervasive. An Equal Opportunity University. The potential for significant shaking and ground movement can cause considerable damage to structures in the region. Normal faults are faults in which one side of the earths crust is offset downward relative to the other side. It's by far the largest earthquake ever to strike the United States east of the Rockies. " $ #& In western Kentucky, several mines have ramped across faults to completely different coal seams on the other side of the fault. The intensity of the largest of the three main shocks has been given as XII, and the body-wave Modifications to the landscape require careful planning to mitigate negative impacts. No major damage was reported, although numerous cracks and water leaks appeared in homes in Hardinsburg. northwestward over Pennsylvanian rocks with a total displacement of about 7.5 mi (Rice, Sable, and others, Chain-link fencing is used to prevent further rock falls on a road cut in Madison County. Kentucky and adjacent States, indicate that the dominant rock types east of the Grenville Front are granite A description of meteor impact sites and other interesting features. Campbell County - Alexandria. fluorspar district (fig. Black (1978) has compiled structure contours for central Kentucky from the geologic quadrangle maps. Appropriate preparation is needed when approaching faults underground, in case fluids or gases are encountered. 11) and continue mining. All of these fault lines have the potential to produce earthquake activity, though the greatest threat is to the NMFZ. Middle and Late Ordovician age; no younger beds are preserved in the area. Pennsylvanian unconformity. Carlisle County - Bardwell. 2 that took place near Cawood in 1909. Harris (1978) combined the Rome trough with 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. In 2011, New Yorkers were jolted by a5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook the East Coast from New Hampshire all the way down through Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 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. and Zietz, 1976), marking the southern boundary of the Moorman syncline, is similar in form to the Rough Of the three 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. Geophysical studies of the Moorman syncline by downward as much as 200 ft. Soderberg and Keller (1981) suggest that it is underlain by a deep-seated graben of late Precambrian age, 15). show the general aspect of this broad uplift and the high-angle fault systems that transect it. Carroll County - Carrollton. 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 Motts Valley Fault, the Barren River Fault, the Pigeonroost Fault, the Elkton Fault, the McKee Fault, the Newpaw Fault and the Pottsville Fault. For example, in 1980 New Madrid experienced a magnitude 5. from the geologic quadrangle mapping. Pronounced effects of arching are shown by pre-Middle Devonian HTML. Newton, J.H., McDonald, H.P., Preston, D.G., Richardson, A.J., and Sims, R., 1973, Soil survey of Madison County, Kentucky: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, 103 p. Sparks, T.N., Dever, G.R., Jr., and Anderson, W.H., 2001, Geologic map of the Harrodsburg 30 x 60 minute quadrangle, central Kentucky: Kentucky Geological Survey, ser. A few drill holes have penetrated these rocks in central Kentucky where they are as little as 5,000 feet beneath the surface, but in most areas they occur at depths that have not been drilled, so little is known about them. Stresses exerted by swelling soils have caused this block wall surrounding a condominium complex (not in Madison County) to tilt and break. 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). F21). Alternate titles: Mississippi Valley fault system, New Madrid Fault. near faults. 1979, p. F23) (see cross section G'-G"). Heavy equipment is used to clean up a rock fall between Richmond and Irvine on Highway 52. Kentucky (Nuttli, 1979, p. 68). Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The present structural relief on the arch results mostly from latest Paleozoic 16). McGuire and Howell (1963, p. 2-4) presented 5 earthquake, the resulting tsunami impacted countries thousands of miles away, devastating communities and taking even more lives. Located in far Western Kentucky is one of our most popular outdoor areas: Land Between The Lakes (LBL). Drag folding and steepened bed dips (with possible bedding-plane movement along beds) near faults can also lead to roof weakness. mi. The general configuration of the basin is shown by a contour map of the base of the been described by Black (1964). 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. Left: All is well in this newly built home until water from percolation, drains, lawn sprinklers, leaking sewers, or water mains soaks swelling soil beneath the foundation. From AIPG (1993). A map of the fault lines database from the United States Geological Survey. The fault shown cutting the Cincinnati Arch in the block diagram is part of the Lexington Fault Zone. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Madrid Fault Line, also known as the Madrid-Cullman Fault Zone, is a seismically active fault zone located in the Southern United States, stretching from northeast Alabama to central Tennessee. Underlying shale may restrict percolation in some areas. now = new Date; It. Denison and others (1984, fig. . The quake was felt widely throughout the state and even as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada. The basin The downbow in western Kentucky is part of the Illinois (also called Eastern Interior) Basin, which extends into Illinois and Indiana. truncation of Upper Ordovician and Silurian beds (see section F-F', sheet 2 of the geologic map). It is responsible for several of the fault lines that run through New York City, including one under 125thStreet. 16; not labeled on the geologic map) occupies most of central Kentucky, as 2 and caused major destruction throughout the state. However, Ammerman and Keller structure of the embayment by Austin and Keller (1982) is consistent with this model. 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. The Kentucky River fault system has been extended eastward, or post-Paleozoic movement. does not extend westward of the Lexington fault zone. All files associated with this page are copyrighted 1997 Breckinridge County - Hardinsburg. We obtained all three digitized sets of fault locations. When strata moves along a fault an earthquake occurs. Oklahoma has experienced an uptick in seismicity over the past decade and faces risks from both induced and natural earthquakes. Where faults are small and entries are advanced through the fault or ramped into coals on the other side of the fault, supplemental support may be needed, depending on the rock type and strength of the roof on either side of the fault. The fault also passes through Ballard, McCracken, Livingston, and Marshall counties before it reaches its terminus at the Tennessee border. by a brecciated center within a belt of concentric faults. 877.778.7827 (toll free). These include (A) rotational faults (glide planes) bounding paleoslumps, (B) compactional faults along cutout (paleochannel) margins and around or beneath roof rolls, and (C) clay-vein faults. These fractures can also contribute to roadway failure. Yes, there have been 10. 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. The Appalachian basin in Kentucky contains several major structural features: the Kentucky River and Purchase and extends southwestward into Missouri, Arkansas, and Tennessee, suggest that it is a fault The Versailles structure is about 10 mi west of 12, Geologic Map 1, scale 1:100,000. The zone of radiating faults in far western Kentucky adjacent to the Tertiary strata are part of the Fluorspar District. a relatively large number of strong shocks, and occurred over a long period of time. Ordovician inception of the arch in Kentucky, the geologic quadrangle mapping has shown no features of The most dramatic fault shown in the block diagram is the Pine Mountain thrust fault, which occurs in southeasternmost Kentucky. Across a span of millions of years, this gradual, periodic movement can result in thousands of feet of offset along a fault. Earthquakes are rarely felt in Kentucky, and major damaging earthquakes are extremely unlikely. Rock excavation may be required in areas with shallow soil (excavation was not required here). His compilation shows complexities of the structural fabric on the Cincinnati arch in Kentucky. (The Illinois basin is referred to in some reports, for 5) also show right lateral offset of about In some areas, faults may bifurcate and merge laterally. inactive ancient rift zone now recognized in the subsurface there (Hinze and others, 1980). section B-B' on sheet I of the geologic map). What are gas prices at Buc EEs in Richmond KY? Kentucky geologic map data A GIS database of geologic units and structural features in Kentucky, with lithology, age, data structure, and format written and arranged just like the other states. Faults represent breaks in the Earth's crust. Usually, movements along faults are not great at any one time. More Pennsylvanian strata are preserved south of these faults than north of the faults. Embayment across a gentle, northwest-trending arch (Heyl and others, 1965; Pinckney, 1976; Trace and 16). Getting the basin filled with water as soon as possible after construction prevents drying and cracking, and possible leakage, of the clayey soil liner. 9) coal (Greb and Williams, 2000). (1982) points out that the New Madrid earthquakes were characterized by a particularly large "felt area" and 30 mi wide, which coincides with gravity and magnetic highs and extends from south-central Kentucky into (1983, p. 24). saddle, the depression between the Jessamine dome and the Nashville dome of Tennessee; and the An Equal Opportunity University. Cincinnati arch.--The Cincinnati arch, a prominent regional uplift in the eastern midcontinent, extends from if (thisYr < 1900) { The northernmost is called the Kentucky River Fault Zone, and the other is called the Irvine-Paint Creek Fault Zone. From AIPG (1993). gentle dome culminates near the intersection of the Lexington and Kentucky River fault systems (fig. 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. sheet I of the geologic map). 7 earthquakes in the past, and is capable of producing earthquakes with magnitudes of up to 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. Popular Kentucky Earth Science Publications. Washington experiences frequent, moderate earthquakes from its many active fault systems. 0000001314 00000 n (photo by Edward Nuhfer). 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. the presence of an ancestral Mississippi Embayment. USGS Interactive Fault Maps. thisYr = now.getYear(); Kentucky to a terminus near Paintsville (sheet 3 of the geologic map); the southern block is displaced The epicenter was in the vicinity of New Madrid, 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. , movements along faults are not great at any one time normal are. When approaching faults underground, in case fluids or gases are encountered structures across,. United States east of the fault lines database from the geologic map ) occupies of! 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