Beneath Tennessee, a fault line stirs with a threat geologists call more terrifying than the legendary New Madrid zone. Scientists have long mapped the region’s seismic history, but new research reveals a hidden danger capable of producing catastrophic ground shaking across the mid-South.
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake centered near Greenback, Tennessee, rattled homes and woke residents in the region this morning. The tremor was felt as far away as Charlotte and Atlanta.The event drew renewed attention to a seismic zone beneath the Appalachian region that scientists monitor for larger potential earthquakes. The East Tennessee Seismic Zone stretches roughly 300 miles from Alabama throug…
Maps of the Pacific Northwest hide a startling secret that changes how the region is understood. Oregon and Idaho appear as simple neighbors, but a deep geological anomaly separates them.
The Pacific Northwest carries a reputation for being quiet, damp, and unremarkable. Rain jackets, coffee, and gray skies are the standard image. Geologically, however, the region is one of the most extreme landscapes in North America. It has been buried under volcanic basalt, carved by floods larger than any in recorded history, and it sits over a fault line capable of producing a major earthquake…