The Majorly Mysterious Mima Mounds

reply to post by TV_Nation


Giant objects touching down on the planet's surface.

UFO's the size of big cities....

Originally posted by TV_Nation
So what do you think ATS? Any Ideas on how these mounds were formed?

My only idea here is that (given the composition AND the appearance of flow patterns there (some "islands" appear connected to others and the connections all run in the same direction) that it might have been caused when an ice dam on a melting glacier burst. I know of the Scablands, of course, which is an extreme example. But I don't know enough about geology to know where other, smaller examples might be.

Still, a fairly quick erosion from a broad opening seems to be involved. I wonder what the subsoil is like (how far down to a rock layer) and what is known about glaciers at the end of the Holocene in that area.

My guess is glacial flow. The eskers are visible in the google view. I'm willing to bet there are dried near-by kettle lakes also. It would be nice to see some shots on the outer edges of the mound fields.

The only problem I have with the seismic idea is that on the map in the OP Arkansas was nearly completely covered in these mounds. There isn't just a whole lot of seismic activity in the area.
Byrd's idea about glacial melting is interesting. As far as soil composition here in Arkansas, there isn't much in the Northwest quadrant of the state. Very rocky...

Interestingly enough, I had never heard of this, yet when I went to google maps to check it out, there they were... in abundance.

ETA: I would have to say that this is a product of erosion of some sort. Look at the ground near the rivers... I'm finding them all over the place near the rivers.

[edit on 23-5-2010 by JayinAR]

great thread my friend. Thank you.

I am at a loss for a reasonable theory. It definitely provides much food for though. Thanks again, it's been a while since I've seen a post of this nature that isn't just rehashing what has already been discussed in a lame effort to get stars and flags. I'd give you 50 if I could.

I have to admit, my mind was not on geology when I read the title of your thread. The first thing that occured to me was that 'Mima Mounds' was the name of a pronographic actress.

An interesting bit in the actual article though. Nature's mysteries are some of the best in the world IMO. Good thread.

Chrono

TV_Nation
I've done a little more research on this and still can't come up with a good reason why or how these mounds were made.

Explanations ranged from seismic causes and even to pocket gophers.

Ding ding ding ding ding

'Digital gophers' solve Mima mound mystery

Conclusive? May not explain all the formations everywhere but an interesting result.

Great Pyramids of the Gophers: Mima Mound Mystery Solved

According to a computer model, "mature" Mima mounds appear after about 500 to 700 years of scurrying and burrowing by pocket gophers. In the model, single gophers add a bit of soil, pebbles or dead plants to each mound over many generations — the animals are fiercely territorial.

"That's what makes it take so long; it's generation after generation living in these mounds and building them," said study author Manny Gabet, a geologist at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif.

"What's really cool about this is scaled by body size, these are the largest structures built by any mammal not including humans," Gabet told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet. "In terms of effort, it would be like a single person building the pyramids."

Source: Live Science

Harte