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Newly Found Fault In Arkansas

  • Thread starter Capensis
  • Start date
just an extension of the New Madrid fault zone..........other than being previously unmapped its not really that big of news, some major quakes happened in that area in the 1800's......will happen again.......bad thing is, when that fault zone lets loose it usually lets loose big.........
 
Mmmm, mudflats.
~Joe
 
Didn't that earthquake make buildings sink? Or am I thinking or somewhere else? Well, I now it was because they filled in places that once was filled with water so they could build on it and liquidizes if it is shaken.
 
that would be parts of this fault zone Ant, though im sure its not the only place in the world with a similar setup.........
 
I think Mexico city is the same thing but, I think I saw a documentary on this fault on national geographic. I not sure but, isn't it in the process of becoming a fault because the North American plate is splitting? Lol, I know nothing about geography.
 
Honestly, I have no idea. I just saw it and I just thought it was something serious.
 
its basically a weak spot in the middle of the plate at the moment......im guessing its the start of the North American Plate splitting apart but who knows, likely not know for sure or see anything but quakes out of it through our great great great great great great great and so on grand childrens lives......the spreading in the mid Atlantic is pushing us against the Pacific plate and when things get hung up and dont move where stuff is supposed to that New Madrid area buckles a bit....
 
The traditional explanation is that the Mississippi flows through a failed rift that extends north from the "successful" Gulf of Mexico rift. The New Madrid earthquake happened at the northern tip of the failed rift. It's the major, but not the only rift/fault system in the area. The area isn't especially active, geologically speaking, but liquefaction makes any earthquake there especially devastating. That's why San Francisco's Marina District (developed on fill) was heavily damaged by the World Series earthquake back in the late 80s. It was actually a fairly minor earthquake by CA standards, but development in areas susceptible to liquefaction made it pretty destructive. Other than for stopping the World Series, the earthquake was most famous for a doubled-decker highway bridge that failed, crushing people under the fallen upper deck. The bridge supports were in marshland. The moral of the story is to ride out earthquakes on solid rock, not wet sediments.
 
  • #10
yeah it doesnt let loose often, dont think there has been anything but the slightest tremors in the last 100 years(think the average is one a year is even strong enough felt by the average person), nothing major since the early 1800's but its record seems to be long periods of no action and all the sudden it will let loose with a magnitude 6-7-8 type quake and than be quite for a long while again.....and given the area is basically one large flood plain very few places are sitting on bedrock.....its just a ticking time bomb waiting to go off i think the figured average right now is between 300 and 500 years between major damaging quakes so it is unlikely we will see one in our life time.....course, it could let loose tomorrow aswell, as Mother Nature tends to pay no attention to statistics and does what she pleases....
 
  • #11
I lived in Indiana growing up. About 15-20 years ago we had a 5.0 in the early evening. I have been through some 5.0 earthquakes here in SoCal, but they have not felt as fierce as the one in Indiana. It really does make a difference as to the type of rock you are on when it happens.

I remember reading somewhere that the New Madrid Fault has the potential to be more devastating than the San Andreas of California. Not sure where I saw that though.
 
  • #12
yep more devistating because of the type of ground everything is built on.....when it starts majorly shaking for all intents and purposes as far as the buildings are concerned the ground their built on is going to turn to mud and they are going o sink, fall over, collapse....atleast in alot of California you are basically on bedrock which is firm ground so you just got to build buildings that can take some shaking......kinda hard to build something thats going to be able to take the hard packed dirt they were built on turning to quicksand...........
 
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