There is no earthquake season.  Earthquakes can cause damage at any time of the year. Earthquakes strike with little – if any warning, and can also occur in areas not considered to be in seismically active.  This was seen with the widely-felt magnitude 5.6 earthquake quake near Shawnee Oklahoma November 6, 2011 and the magnitude 5.8 quake in Mineral, Virginia August 23, 2011.

May 30, 2013, at 10 a.m. (CDT), you can join experts from the Central United States Earthquake Consortium, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to learn how to protect your family and home from the impacts of earthquakes. 

During this brief 45 minute webinar, you will learn more about:

• How to stay safe during an earthquake
• How to minimize earthquake related damages in  your home
• Ways to protect your business from earthquakes and other disasters
• Common earthquake insurance questions
• How to find free earthquake safety resources and more…

To participate:  RSVP by May 24, 2013 by emailing cusec@cusec.org.  After you RSVP, you will be sent login instructions to join the webinar on May 30.  Space is limited, so RSVP today!!!

Missouri lies in the The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), the most active seismic area in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.  Small earthquakes are recorded in Missouri nearly every day. These earthquakes typically are too small to be felt but are recorded on seismographs, devices that measure the earth’s movement.

Learn more about earthquake potential in Missouri and search for earthquake occurrences in the past seven days.

Visit us this summer and see the impressive display of meteorites in the Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology.  A space rock smaller than approximately one yard across will likely burn up completely during passage through Earth’s atmosphere.  This is what we see as meteors (shooting stars) and fireballs.  Larger space rocks up to approximately 10 yards across have a good chance of landing intact or in pieces on the Earth as meteorites.

Self-guided tours of the museum are available to the public weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Admission is free!  Closed on Holidays, we are located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Admission is free of charge.  Check our website for more information.

The last geology presentation during our 160th Anniversary Open House will be about fossils.  Visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our McCracken Core Library and Research Center and Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park or four passes to tour Onondaga Cave, in Onondaga Cave State Park.

We are located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Admission is free of charge.  Check our website for more information

Turnout has been great for our geology presentations, and you have two more chances to join us during our 160th Anniversary Open House.  Thursday’s presentation is about water wells and groundwater.  Friday’s topic is fossils!

Visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our McCracken Core Library and Research Center and Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park or four passes to tour Onondaga Cave, in Onondaga Cave State Park.

We are located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Admission is free of charge.  Check our website for more information

Don’t forget, we are having daily Lunch and Learn presentations about geology during our 160th Anniversary Open House, April 22-26.

• Tuesday, April 23 – Geologic Mapping
• Wednesday, April 24 – Caves
• Thursday, April 25 – Water Wells and Groundwater
• Friday, April 26 – Fossils

Visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our McCracken Core Library and Research Center and Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park or four passes to tour Onondaga Cave, in Onondaga Cave State Park.

We are located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Admission is free of charge.  Check our website for more information.

Plan to visit during our Open House and attend special Lunch and Learn presentations about geology April 22-26, 2013.  We welcome everyone to visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.  We also are offering tours of our McCracken Core Library and Research Center.

Lunch and Learn – 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

• Monday, April 22 – History and Future of the Geological Survey
• Tuesday, April 23 – Geologic Mapping
• Wednesday, April 24 – Caves
• Thursday, April 25 – Water Wells and Groundwater
• Friday, April 26 – Fossils

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park or four passes to tour Onondaga Cave, in Onondaga Cave State Park.

We are located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Admission is free of charge.  Check our website for more information.

Everyone is invited to attend our special Lunch and Learn presentations April 22-26, 2013, visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.  Johnson’s Shut-ins State Park is a geologic jewel of the Missouri State Park System, a place with something for everyone.

You may also win four passes to tour Onondaga Cave, in Onondaga Cave State Park.  Onondaga Cave is one of America’s most spectacular, with 1.5 miles of passages decorated with towering stalagmites, dripping stalactites, active flowstones, grotto salamanders and more.

Our museum is located in the Buehler Building, 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Self-guided tours are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Lunch and Learn presentations will be held from 12:15-12:45 p.m. in the adjacent Annex Building.  Pack a lunch and join us!  Admission to the museum and presentations is free of charge.  Parking is available in front and back of both buildings.  Check our website for the schedule for presentations and read more about us.

Since 1853, staff members with the Missouri Geological Survey have provided reliable scientific information to describe and understand Missouri’s wealth of natural resources.

Please joing us to attend special Lunch and Learn presentations April 22-26, 2013, visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.  Johnson’s Shut-ins State Park is a geologic jewel of the Missouri State Park System, a place with something for everyone.

You may also win four passes to tour Onondaga Cave, in Onondaga Cave State Park.  Onondaga Cave is one of America’s most spectacular, with 1.5 miles of passages decorated with towering stalagmites, dripping stalactites, active flowstones, grotto salamanders and more.

Our museum is located in the Buehler Building, 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Self-guided tours are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Lunch and Learn presentations will be held from 12:15-12:45 p.m. in the adjacent Annex Building.  Pack a lunch and join us!  Admission to the museum and presentations is free of charge.  Parking is available in front and back of both buildings.  Check our website for the schedule for presentations and read more about us.

A geologic hazard is one of several types of geologic events that can put lives and property in danger.  In Missouri, geologic hazards consist of a wide range of phenomena and include: earthquakes, landslides, sinkholes, soil liquefaction, rockfalls and even mine collapse.

Earthquakes

Most Missourians are familiar with the large 1811-1812 earthquakes that occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) in southeast Missouri. However, Missouri experiences small earthquakes nearly every day. These earthquakes typically are too small to be felt but are recorded on seismographs, devices that measure the earth’s movement. While these earthquakes are more frequent in the NMSZ in southeast Missouri, they also occur on other faults located in Missouri and surrounding states.

Sinkholes

Sinkholes are depressed or collapsed areas formed by dissolution of carbonate bedrock or collapse of underlying caves. Much of Missouri, especially the Ozarks, is underlain by bedrock susceptible to sinkhole development.  Sinkholes are part of what is called “karst” topography and also includes caves, springs and losing streams. Aside from structurally impacting foundations of homes and other buildings, sinkholes often serve as direct conduits for rapid surface water infiltration into the underlying groundwater aquifer. Contaminants near or at the surface can quickly enter the aquifer and pollute drinking water supplies.

Landslides

Landslides, slumps and rockfalls are potential geologic hazards throughout Missouri. They often can be triggered when surficial materials are disturbed or modified by man.  Rockfalls are common hazards in areas that have bluffs or extremely steep hillsides.  Landslides and rockfalls can vary in size from small to very large.  In general, the higher and steeper the slope, the farther and faster the landslide or rockfall will travel.

Mine Collapse

Although man-made, collapsing mines also pose a geologic hazard.  Abandoned mines occur throughout Missouri and include both surface pits and underground workings.  Old mines were typically abandoned without proper reclamation or closure.  These pits and underground voids can pose a public safety hazard.

Learn more about geologic hazards in Missouri.

One hundred sixty years is not a very long time when speaking in geologic terms. However, the Missouri Geological Survey is observing this noteworthy milestone this year.  Since 1853, staff members have provided reliable scientific information to describe and understand Missouri’s wealth of natural resources.

Everyone is invited to attend our special Lunch and Learn presentations April 22-26, 2013, visit with staff, see special exhibits, and tour our Edward L. Clark Museum of Missouri Geology to learn about the contributions staff members have made to both the environmental and economic vitality of Missouri.

Register during the Open House to win a stay at Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park.  Johnson’s Shut-ins State Park is a geologic jewel of the Missouri State Park System, a place with something for everyone.

Our museum is located in the Buehler Building, 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla.  Self-guided tours are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Lunch and Learn presentations will be held from 12:15-12:45 p.m. in the adjacent Annex Building.  Pack a lunch and join us!  Admission to the museum and presentations is free of charge.  Parking is available in front and back of both buildings.  Check our website for the schedule for presentations and read more about us.