Jumble
Master Guide
Reged: 04/20/03
Posts: 4076
Loc: Philadelphia, PA
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In his recent post, Cintos makes reference to the Heart Mountain Geologic Enigma. Phenomenon has also been noted at Google Earth Hacks! Additional information has surfaced!
Quote:
"Moving mountains" has come to mean doing the impossible. Yet at least once in the past, one mountain relocated a fair distance away. This feat took place around 50 million years ago, in the area of the present-day border between Montana and Wyoming. Heart Mountain was part of a larger mountain range when the 100 km (62 mile) long ridge somehow became detached from its position and shifted about 100 km to the southwest. This 'migrating mountain' has garnered interest from geologists and geophysicists around the world who have tried to solve the mystery behind the largest known instance of land movement on the face of any continent.
Dr. Einat Aharonov of the Weizmann Institute’s Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department, working in collaboration with Dr. Mark Anders of Columbia University in New York, recently published a paper in the scientific journal Geology that offers an explanation for the phenomenon.
Aharonov and Ander’s explanation is based on dikes – vertical cracks in the rock that fill with hot lava boiling up from deep in the earth. In Heart Mountain, these dikes formed a passage for the lava, three kilometers deep, through the limestone aquifer (a porous, water-soaked layer). There, the sizzling lava would have heated the water to extreme temperatures, causing tremendous fluid pressures.
The scientists developed a mathematical model (based on the number of dikes in the mountain and their structure) that allowed them to calculate the temperatures and pressures that would have been created deep within the base of the mountain. The results showed that the infiltrating hot lava would have turned the water in the aquifer layer into a sort of giant pressure cooker, releasing enough force to move Heart Mountain from its original spot to its present site.•
(Terrain,and Geographic Features "On" Please)
•From Science Daily
Heart Mountain has a more "human" history. noted in an earlier post!
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There are none so blind......
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dhdoyle
First Post
Reged: 06/15/06
Posts: 1
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Regarding "large dots in a line".
I haven't actually driven out to check these items, but they are almost certainly modern and related to energy development. Since they are regular and laid out on a grid, I suspect that they are:
1. Uranium exploration boreholes drilled by water-well sized rigs in the 1960-70's, or
2. Shot holes for seismic exploration for natural gas within the last 10-20 years.
3. Unlikely, geochemical test borings for natural gas or sodium carbonate (trona) exploration.
4. Unlikely, rock cairns built by land surveyors to mark section corners during the early Government Land Office cadastral land surveys in the late 19th century.
This area has been extensively covered by archaeologists as required by the Bureau of Land Management prior to energy development. The nearly-rectangular areas of disturbed earth to the north and east of the tags are natural gas well locations. Given the amount of energy activity in this area for the last 30 years, it is extremely unlikely that archaeologists would miss any prehistoric traces.
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Regarding the randomly scattered little dots...
... I think you've identified prairie dog burrows. The spacing (40-60 feet) looks about right. In a well-used area, most of the burrows are probably abandoned, so the animal population isn't nearly as big as the photos imply.
Photographic artifacts like the ones you identified can visibly persist in this arid climate for quite some time because vegetation takes a long time to recover. You should still be able to see remnants of the Immigrant Trails (Oregon, Mormon, etc), to the south and east of these sites. One possible section (right location, but might have been improved at some point) is visible at 42 degrees, 35' 18.19" North, 106 degrees, 59' 24.90" West.
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Finally, regarding the black "dots close to a water area"... those are undoubtedly cattle.
If I have the occasion to drive out there later this summer, I'll look around and try to take some digital photos to post.
Dave - Casper, WY.
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SatAM17
Tourist
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 91
Loc: NC
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Thanks for the reply. It could be crater marks and I wouldn't rule that out as impossible although these features appear to be protruding instead of recessed.
There's also another area off the coast of VA that is a similar size as the Scotland chain. I can get you those coordinates if your interested in taking a look.
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SatAM17
Tourist
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 91
Loc: NC
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Thanks for your information. I have updated the website and I'll probably be pulling the Wyoming image area since most people have responded that the features are either modern or natural.
Any more comments out there?
Thanks to everyone for helping with the research. I have many more sites to add, but not much time to do this lately.
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davidjmyers
First Post
Reged: 06/24/06
Posts: 1
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I worked in WY for a few years for the US gov't. Others who have responded are correct that these features are remnants of resource development. Specifically, many of the regularly spaced round features are what is left after an exploration company does what is called a "2D or 3D seismic survey". The difference between the two is that the 3D gives a more complete view of underground features. When you see a bunch of "dots" in a row, it was a 2D survey, when there is a grid, it was a 3D. And a previous poster was right, the actual holes are called "shot holes." That is when a sonic vibration (a small explosion) is sent into the ground and equipment on the surface records the vibration off of different densities of rock/soil in the ground.
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SatAM17
Tourist
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 91
Loc: NC
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A set of 16 placemarks of high albedo linear features off the coast of Cape Hatteras, NC.
Would love to hear any feedback for these linear areas. Could be wave action, but I would like to fly over that area to get a bird's eye view.
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SatAM17
Tourist
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 91
Loc: NC
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At first I thought these areas could have been caused by wave activity. I'm still not absolutely positive they aren't caused by waves, however it's always helpful to hear the replies on this board and it's so much fun to look for anomalies.
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Hill
Master Guide
Reged: 10/31/04
Posts: 8577
Loc: Los Angeles
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The area is a place where opposing currents meet. I'm sure mariners have a name for the phenomenon, but I don't know what it is. As two currents meet debris and foam are trapped along a line where one current dives beneath, or is forced to run alongside, another. The linear features persist until tide changes or wind changes no longer force the currents to strongly oppose each other.
Below is a phenomenon that matches what I an trying to describe. Water is flowing in from the sides of the man-made rapids, as well as flowing down-stream. Where the currents meet, the foam and debris caused by turbulence forms a linear pattern reaching off downstream.
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SatAM17
Tourist
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 91
Loc: NC
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Could be possible, however I don't see any areas that look like your image. Most of the areas I've bookmarked are linear features that continue for fairly long distances and they don't seem to be parallel to the shoreline which would indicate that the waves caused them. In fact, many of the lines are perpendicular to the shore line.
I'm not ruling out a natural cause, just looking at the image evidence and I thank you for replying. 
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SatAM17
Tourist
Reged: 10/25/05
Posts: 91
Loc: NC
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Thanks for your reply. I'm going to be removing that image study from the SD site since so many people agree they are caused by modern man.
If anyone disagrees, now is the time to speak up.
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