53 Insights on the Ongoing Dynamics of Northeastern North America from Geology and Geophysics (Posters)

Tuesday, 19 March 2019
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Casco Bay Hall

THE GEOLOGY OF SPLIT ROCK FALLS

Paper number: 53-8
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

The canyon known as Split Rock Falls, located in Surry, New Hampshire has an unusual width to depth ratio for the size of the stream that flows through it. Merriam Brook is a small stream that incises a canyon roughly 50 feet deep and 250 feet wide, through bedrock that is largely granitic. The size of the stream, and granite’s known resistance to weathering and erosion make it unlikely that Split Rock Falls was created by typical stream processes. Early field efforts led to the hypothesis that the stream was exploiting cracks (joints) in the rock. Later work proved that the joints are part of an unknown fault, which may be related to a larger, un-mapped fault system (Woltner, 2017). Structural and compositional data were collected from 7 locations along a .5 mile length within the canyon. This research will provide insight towards undocumented geologic structures in southeastern New Hampshire.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 51, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2019NE-328526

© Copyright 2019 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.