Geology

I have come across a time-lapse map that claims Missouri used to be ocean-front property, but is it true? Let's take a deep dive (ocean pun intended) and see if this theory has any basis in fact.

If you're a spelunker, you can travel the world, but you'll only find one specific cave formation and it's hidden inside a cavern in Missouri.

I will confess that I only think about sinkholes when I see one appear and that's not frequently. There have been some that have been spotted in Missouri recently which led me on an investigation where I learned that the state is a dangerous sinkhole hotspot.

I'm afraid of heights. I'm also afraid of depths so I guess I have a dilemma. That's one of the reasons it freaks me out a little bit to know there's a sinkhole in Missouri that plunges 175 into the depths of the Earth. Yikes.

It's natural when you think of earthquakes in Missouri to automatically think of New Madrid. But, did you know that New Madrid isn't the Missouri city most likely to get rocked by a major quake? It is nearby though.

Here's one of those numbers that is hard to wrap your brain around. 16,000. That's a lot of anything, especially when it's the number of confirmed sinkholes in Missouri. How can that be true? Spoiler alert - it is.

The New Madrid Fault area along Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Tennessee is a wildly unpredictable seismic area. It can be completely quiet for days then suddenly show activity. That happened over the past week as a mini-swarm of 9 quakes have been recorded.

Since I'm an earthquake nerd, I keep close tabs on the New Madrid Fault that weaves its way through southern Missouri. Normally, there are small quakes that happen almost constantly, but that's not been the case this month. Activity along the fault zone has become eerily quiet.

There are locations with big rocks and then there are other places with BIG ROCKS. This Missouri state park is that second one with boulders so huge they look like elephants dating back 1.5 billion years.

The New Madrid earthquake fault has wasted no time in registering measurable quakes in 2023. The new year has started with 7 relatively minor quakes and it's still ongoing.