“The importance of hydropower as a source of electricity generation varies by geographic region. While hydropower accounted for 6% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2010, it provided over half of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest.” Quote from the Energy Information Administration article.
USGS has recently published: “Shallow Coal Exploration Drill-Hole Data—Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas”. Data is available by state in MS Excel files.
The-Vug.com has an impressive listing of mineral clubs organized by state. You might be surprised at how many clubs are listed and there is probably one that meets within a short drive of your home.
The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps – large enough make a huge 5′ x 8′ (or 8′ x 5′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool. Lots of smaller sizes are also available.
We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.
The Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research has prepared: Taxation of Natural Gas: A Comparative Analysis. This publication reviews the many methods of taxing natural gas 19 different states. You might be surprised at how many ways natural gas is being taxed.
“This poster summarizes a few of the more significant facts about the series of large earthquakes that struck the New Madrid seismic zone of southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and adjacent parts of Tennessee and Kentucky from December 1811 to February 1812.”
Earthquake waves travel very efficiently in the crust of the eastern United States. As a result the Magnitude 5.9 earthquake that occurred today in Virginia was felt in at least 22 states plus the District of Colombia. Ground shaking has been reported to the USGS and by news accounts in: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Indiana, Georgia, Florida and Washington, DC.
“Several of the largest historical earthquakes to strike the continental United States occurred in the winter of 1811-1812 along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, which stretches from just west of Memphis, Tennessee into southern Illinois. These earthquakes produced at least three temblors between magnitude 7-8, and hundreds of aftershocks.”
“It was one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. Now scientists are organizing a research program to better understand the tornadoes that blew through Alabama and other southeastern states on April 27, 2011.” Quoted from the National Science Foundation press release.
Five geologists who were mapping the landslide hazards of North Carolina are being laid off even though the cost of their salaries is less than the loss of just one house per year.
Identifying landslide hazard areas is very important because homeowners insurance generally does not cover damages caused by earth movements.
Here’s a news article in the Asheville Citizen-Times that reports on landslide damages of $20 million already this year in western North Carolina and Tennessee – far less than the $355,000 needed to keep the mappers working.
The Mississippi River is expected to crest on Tuesday after a month of higher-than-normal rainfall. A rare opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway was done to take pressure off of levees near New Orleans.
After intentionally breaching a Mississippi River levee to save Cairo, Illinois, the city of Memphis, Tennessee is at highest risk of flooding. The Mississippi River there is flowing at a rate of 2 million cubic feet of water per second and the crest is not expected until Tuesday.
The SCINEWS teacher resource site has a new lesson titled: “Tornado Outbreaks in the Southern and Eastern US”. It includes a printable event overview, student worksheet, links to videos and links to additional information.
The New York Times has a United States map with tornado tracks and fatality locations for the recent tornadoes that occured in the eastern and central United States. Also a time line of deadly tornadoes from 1950 to present.
Nearly 300 people were killed by strong storms and tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Arkansas. This has been the worst series of storms to hit the southeastern United States in about forty years.
Leaders at the U.S. Department of Education and Homeland Security are urging schools to participate in the Great Central U.S. Shakeout – an event targeting schools in states surrounding the New Madrid Fault Zone.
Based upon reviews of historical accounts of the large earthquakes that occurred in the New Madrid, Missouri area in 1811 and 1812, experts now estimate that their magnitudes were significantly lower – down from magnitude 7.7 to about 7.0.
A few companies are building tornado-resistant homes that look like typical homes but have a structural steel frame. They cost just 5% more than a typical home.
There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for a major destructive earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone. Many structures in Memphis, Tenn., St. Louis, Mo., and other communities in the central Mississippi River Valley region are vulnerable and at risk from severe ground shaking.
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