New Madrid Region: Geologic history in cross section

54s Novice

No audio: Volcanoes, dinosaurs & inland sea around New Madrid? Hmm. There is an interesting geologic story told in the rocks of the New Madrid seismic zone. This animation takes each segment of geology and spins a scenario in cross section to see how the landscape has changed over its 500 million year history. 

Keypoints:

Geologic history includes:

  • Extension and crustal thinning
  • Faulting
  • Volcanic Intrusions
  • Sedimentation
  • Hot spot
  • Regional cooling and subsidence

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No audio: How can a river run backwards? This animation shows how a river can be forced backwards, albeit only long enough to find a new route. Several written accounts from the New Madrid earthquake of 1811 and 1812 describe the horror as great waters swashed upriver causing lakes to form on previously dry land. 

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