500 foot crack in the earth appears in Michigan

[Pharaoh]

Run time: 00:55 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtTmnXt1TUQ   Posted on YouTube: October 06, 2010 By YouTube Member: wluk Views on YouTube: 63415   Posted on DU: June 21, 2011 By DU Member: Pharaoh Views on DU: 3885

 
A large crack suddenly appeared after what seemed like an earthquake in Menominee Township of Michigan, US. There are a few videos of the crack but this one seems like the best.

Locals or authorities dont know what it is and have also contacted experts that can figure out why such a massive crack appeared.

No one knows if it was a earthquake, volcano or what might be beneath and causing also the earth to lift up at places.

There is no fault line in that area so a fault line theory cannot explain what is happening there.

Looks like something out of a horror movie.

Here is the video:

[slackmaster]

1. Out here in the far West we call that kind of thing a "landslide"

But until the experts weigh in let's just agree to call it "the phenomenon."

;-)

[MineralMan]

9. But, wait....a Michigan State Trooper said he didn't know what

caused it. Isn't that enough? I mean, they're really smart about stuff and shit. :rofl:

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Any "fracking" nearby?

Hydraulic fracturing, often called fracking, fracing or hydrofracking, is the process of initiating and subsequently propagating a fracture in a rock layer, employing the pressure of a fluid as the source of energy.<1> The fracturing, known as a frack job (or frac job),<2><3> is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations, in order to increase the extraction and ultimate recovery rates of oil and natural gas.

Hydraulic fractures may be natural or man-made and are extended by internal fluid pressure which opens the fracture and causes it to extend through the rock. Natural hydraulic fractures include volcanic dikes, sills and fracturing by ice as in frost weathering. Man-made fluid-driven fractures are formed at depth in a borehole and extend into targeted formations. The fracture width is typically maintained after the injection by introducing a proppant into the injected fluid. Proppant is a material, such as grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the injection is stopped.

<snip>

Natural gas drilling and seismic events

Injection of fluid into subsurface geological structures, such as faults and fractures, reduces the effective normal stress acting across these structures. If sufficient shear stress is present, the structure may slip in shear and generate seismic events over a range of magnitudes; it is believed that natural gas drilling may have caused earthquakes in North Texas; Cleburne TX never had earthquakes in its recorded history until extensive fracking came into the area.<52> Subsidence is not directly caused by hydraulic fracturing but may occur after considerable production of oil or ground water. Subsidence occurs over reservoirs whether they have been subject to hydraulic fracturing or not because it is a result of producing fluids from the reservoir and lowering the reservoir pore pressure. The subsidence process can be associated with some seismicity. Reports of minor tremors of no greater than 2.8 on the Richter scale were reported on June 2, 2009 in Cleburne, Texas, the first in the town's 140-year history.<53>

<snip>


from Wikipedia

[Poll_Blind]

3. Very freaky. From the way the land is situated, it looks like it was just....

...a partial settling of a large area. Would be nice if it were an ancient flying saucer crash the Indians used to worship 3,000 years ago, though.

PB

[MineralMan]

4. Where's the political content in this video?

Is the crack a Republican or something?

Saturated ground on a hillside. In California, they appear just before the hill slides down and destroys "Million Dollar Houses." Not much of a mystery, really. It's been raining like crazy in the Midwest.

[RaleighNCDUer]

10. "No one knows if it was a earthquake, volcano or what might be beneath and causing also

the earth to lift up at places."

Settling or sliding down from saturation or because of a sinkhole is one thing. The earth lifting UP is something else entirely.

Nothing lifts without pressure from underneath, unless there's somebody up in the sky pulling on invisible threads.

[MineralMan]

13. That's not exactly true.

In earthslides, the downhill side of the slide often humps up as the moving soil piles up and can't push other soil further down the hill. Raised areas are very common in earthslides. Sorry, but I've seen many landslides and partial landslides, and there are often raised areas, especially when the slide is stopped by more stable earth below it.

Nothing's simple, really. Once a geologist sees this thing in Michigan, the answer will be forthcoming. A state trooper is not competent to say what caused the crack.

[meow mix]

5. 2012, gates of hell nt

[Lint Head]

6. This crack mysteriously appeared in New Jersey.

[Badsam]

19. Is that Marion Barry?

[The Backlash Cometh]

7. I'm just wondering at what point Rachel Welch emerges wearing a saber tooth one piece.

[MineralMan]

8. Mysterious crack appears near body of water.

Edit to update with the latest information:

Hey! Wait! That's Chris Rock. Never mind. Mystery solved.

[slackmaster]

17. And the classic "Police dog sniffs out crack in suspect’s buttocks"

http://thepoodleanddogblog.typepad.com/a_slightly_r_rated_dog_bl/2011/03/police-dog-sniffs-out-crack-in-suspects-buttocks.html

[MichiganVote]

11. Its where we'd like to bury Snyder

[daggahead]

12. Any "fracking" going on in that part of the state? n/t

[MineralMan]

14. The only fracking I know of in Michigan is in the northern

part of the state. However, Menominee is right on the shores of the lake. That could be playing a role here, I'd think. I don't know how close the property is to the lake or what underlies the soil where this occurs. A geologist with knowledge of the actual area will have a better answer.

[bananas]

15. Classic movie: "Crack in the World" (1965)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059065/

Dr. Steven Sorenson plans to tap the geothermal energy of the Earth's interior by means of a thermonuclear device detonated deep within the Earth. Despite dire warnings by fellow scientist Ted Rampian, Dr Sorenson proceeds with the experiment after secretly learning that he is terminally ill. This experiment causes a crack to form and grow within the earth's crust, which threatens to split the earth in two if it is not stopped in time.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

16. Mole People. It was only a matter of time.

And I, for one, welcome our new Mole People overlords.

[ellenfl]

18. obviously caused by a graboid. where are val and earl when you need them? eom

[Lucian]

20. Hmmm...slumping, karst topography, soil creep...

any of those could explain the crack. Maybe there was a lot of rain and caused the land to slump. :shrug:

If I were there, I'd be able to figure it out. I have a degree in geology so I know what I'm talking about.