Mapping and Urban Areas

Significant breakthroughs in the understanding of the seismic hazard potential of the region have been made. Late Quaternary faulting (younger than 120,000 years old), discovered in the English Hill region of the uplands area of the Mississippi Embayment, clearly indicates that the New Madrid seismic zone is not the only potential earthquake source area in the Mid-Continent.

A principle objective of this project is to develop a regional tectonic framework. As part of this effort, 7.5-minute quadrangle mapping in the Cape Girardeau region, along with reconnaissance mapping, will be used to construct a geologic map of the Cape Girardeau 1:100,000 scale quadrangle. The primary application of this work will be to address neotectonic issues related to regional seismicity, including the New Madrid Seismic Zone, and to address the following questions:

• Where have neotectonic events occurred in the Mid-Continent?
• What is the nature of deformation and when did it occur?
• What is the future seismic hazards potential of the greater Mid-Continent region?