Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
The ancient Appalachians are full of geologic mysteries, and new lidar imagery has revealed a new set--huge cracks running along ridges. The cracks can be thousands of feet long and are full of soil, concealing their presence to a person walking on the ground. Are these cracks an indication of a looming disaster, or are they a product of a slow-moving process? Do they foretell a new volcano, or are they remnants of an ancient earthquake? This video shows lidar imagery of the cracks, explains their likely formation, and makes use of the US Geological Survey's incredible online lidar viewer.
The ancient Appalachians are full of geologic mysteries, and new lidar imagery has revealed a new set--huge cracks running along ridges. The cracks can be thousands of feet long and are full of soil, concealing their presence to a person walking on the ground. Are these cracks an indication of a looming disaster, or are they a product of a slow-moving process? Do they foretell a new volcano, or are they remnants of an ancient earthquake? This video shows lidar imagery of the cracks, explains their likely formation, and makes use of the US Geological Survey's incredible online lidar viewer.
