Geology

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.

Perhaps I should take up rock hunting. If what a Missouri rockhound recently found is typical, I have found a new hobby. She came across loads of gorgeous amethysts near an old Missouri mine.

I really should have paid more attention in geology class. Wait. I mean I should have taken a geology class. The reason I say that is someone found a gorgeous purple sparkly rock in a Missouri mine and I'm still not exactly sure what it is.

I've done some rock hunting in Missouri in my time, but I've never found anything like this. It's a massive quartz crystal cluster that came out of the ground in the Show Me State.