Earthquakes in Tennessee

The Sequatchie valley was formed by the mountains separating. There could be a devastating quake here.

I don't think this is accurate. John White, a Geo-physicist with a large gas and oil company in Houston, TX is a good friend of mine. He went to UTK and actually conducted his graduate thesis in the Sequatchie Valley. He studied how it was formed and the rock formations that comprise it. He concluded, and his professors concurred, that the Sequatchie Valley was formed by erosion. Either glacial or free-flowing. The vally was actually higher than the mountains are now. This soil was much softer and was merely swept away from the large rock on both sides. Tennessee was once a shallow ocean-like area with a diverse marine life. Mr. White has been a geo-physicist for nearly thirty years. He finds oil beneath the ocean floor. His research has to be accurate, because companies depend on it and then invest 20 million dollars to build oil platforms on the spot that he designates. I tend to believe his theory on the formation of the Sequatchie Valley.

If the Sequatchie Valley was formed by earthquakes and pushed up, where is all of the coal that was pushed up along with it? Both mountians have abundant coal seams but the valley is void of them. This fact alone tends to lend itself to the theroy that the valley was formed by erosion.

There are earthquakes in oceans and on dry land, Tennessee is notimmune to these. I have be awaken by earthquakes here at home before, nothing I don't think over a 3.5. From what I can gather, a fault line runs along the west side of the valley at the foot of the mountian. years ago before being repaved, there was an unexpected bump in Hwy 111/8 down at Dunlap.

Can an earthquake happen here, I think so, in fact I even put an earthquake rider on my homeowners insurance just in case. Most homeowners policies don't cover damage due to earthquakes. be sure to check with your agent to make sure you have coverage, before one hits and then you find out you are holding the bag!

i do know you find sea shells in the rocks on top of the mountain.so at one time it had to be under water,,

Justin Angel wrote:

I don't think this is accurate. John White, a Geo-physicist with a large gas and oil company in Houston, TX is a good friend of mine. He went to UTK and actually conducted his graduate thesis in the Sequatchie Valley. He studied how it was formed and the rock formations that comprise it. He concluded, and his professors concurred, that the Sequatchie Valley was formed by erosion. Either glacial or free-flowing. The vally was actually higher than the mountains are now. This soil was much softer and was merely swept away from the large rock on both sides. Tennessee was once a shallow ocean-like area with a diverse marine life. Mr. White has been a geo-physicist for nearly thirty years. He finds oil beneath the ocean floor. His research has to be accurate, because companies depend on it and then invest 20 million dollars to build oil platforms on the spot that he designates. I tend to believe his theory on the formation of the Sequatchie Valley.

This is, in fact, accurate. There a variety of works that validate this. Earthquakes may have had a part in this, however erosion has been the driving force behind this beautiful valley's formation.

I thought Mr. White was correct, I've just never conducted any independet research to corroborate it. Earthquakes seem unlikely.

If you take into consideration the form and shape of the mountains, then earthquakes do not seem logical. It would seem plausible that earthquakes can account for some of the erosion, but certainly not the mountain's formation. Mr. White sounds correct.

dunlaptn dot net wrote:

The Sequatchie valley was formed by the mountains separating. There could be a devastating quake here.

Sounds like a good reason to move away. NOW!!!

one thing that point to quakes is,you will find a rock out crop on one side of mountain,then matching rocks on other side of mountain.rock on mountain is sand stone,in valley is lime stone,we know sand stone covers lime stone.so who knows,all i can tell you is from quarrying stone,is at one time the mountain was under water,because you find sea shells in the rock..as you drill and blow out rock,you find all kinds of things.that you would never think was there..i got to round rocks about the size of basket balls,,they are brown.they came out of a grey slab of rock..

Even though fault lines exist, it is common theory among Geologist that the valley was formed by erosion.

It is a rift Valley. You can see where the hills have been torn apart.

Staff wrote:

It is a rift Valley. You can see where the hills have been torn apart.

you are correct,,the only other like it is located in Iran,,it was caused by earth quake,,one thing is all rock on mt.is sand stone,rock in valley is lime stone,,we know lime stone is much deeper in earth crust than sand stone.it has been studied for years by scientist from several countrys..

Or the good Lord could have made it this way!!!

hillbilly wrote:

<quoted text>you are correct,,the only other like it is located in Iran,,it was caused by earth quake,,one thing is all rock on mt.is sand stone,rock in valley is lime stone,,we know lime stone is much deeper in earth crust than sand stone.it has been studied for years by scientist from several countrys..

Finally someone that knows what they are talking about.....

i used to quarry rock,so i studying it more than most people would..you can look at land and just about tell how deep rock is,look at rock on a hill then cross valley and find the seam..color is a different matter,it can change in just a few feet..but this valley is special the only other one found in the world like it is located in iran..scienst from around the world study it..i seen some guys from u.t.c. studying lows gap the other day.

The geologist who submitted information about the valley to wikipedia seems to believe it was formed by erosion rather than rifting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequatchie_Valle...

Also, rift valleys only occur on major faults, and a valley of this size would require a huge strike-slip fault, which simply doesn't exist in our area. The parallel similarities between the two opposing sides of the valley can be explained by the possibility of it all being part of one outcrop that simply had the middle or anticline, eroded away, thus leaving the same outcrop on both sides with the middle missing.

Wikki's can be totally wrong. but I respect the geologists opinion. If you are here. "Look and Decide" If you are not here I can post some pics on a photo website for The Sequatchie Valley I am developing. The Location will be http://pic.dunlaptn.net/

Justin Angel wrote:

The geologist who submitted information about the valley to wikipedia seems to believe it was formed by erosion rather than rifting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequatchie_Valle...
Also, rift valleys only occur on major faults, and a valley of this size would require a huge strike-slip fault, which simply doesn't exist in our area. The parallel similarities between the two opposing sides of the valley can be explained by the possibility of it all being part of one outcrop that simply had the middle or anticline, eroded away, thus leaving the same outcrop on both sides with the middle missing.

the reason i think the valley was formed by a quake is because there is one just like it in iran..another reason is the rock found here,,[the hardest sand stone in the world]..silca content is far above other sand stone..and if erosion caused the valley once the water reached the lime stone it would of really went much deeper..we see the river filling in from run off,not getting deeper..but none of us will really every know,,

Justin Angel wrote:

I don't think this is accurate. John White, a Geo-physicist with a large gas and oil company in Houston, TX is a good friend of mine. He went to UK and actually conducted his graduate thesis in the Squashier Valley. He studied how it was formed and the rock formations that comprise it. He concluded, and his professors concurred, that the Squashier Valley was formed by erosion. Either glacial or free-flowing. The Vally was actually higher than the mountains are now. This soil was much softer and was merely swept away from the large rock on both sides. Tennessee was once a shallow ocean-like area with a diverse marine life. Mr. White has been a Geo-physicist for nearly thirty years. He finds oil beneath the ocean floor. His research has to be accurate, because companies depend on it and then invest 20 million dollars to build oil platforms on the spot that he designates. I tend to believe his theory on the formation of the Squashier Valley.

i do know tn was once a shallow ocean,,because you find sea shells in rock on top of the mt..i have never understood how frogs can be found inside a solid slab of rock,,or how round rocks are found inside flat rocks,,but finding round brown rocks inside slabs of Grey rock,tells me it took more than erosion to form the mt.

Dunlaptn dot Net wrote:

Wikki's can be totally wrong. but I respect the geologists opinion. If you are here. "Look and Decide" If you are not here I can post some pics on a photo website for The Sequatchie Valley I am developing. The Location will be http://pic.dunlaptn.net/

Wikki's can be wrong I agree. I grew up in the valley and visit there often. But I will look at any pics you post. I think the formation of this valley is fascinating.