Friday, July 08, 2005
Austin built on ancient volcano
Did you know there's a volcano in southeast Austin?
It's true. St. Edward's University is built on the mouth of a volcano that dates back 80 million years. If you're wanting to learn about the history of our landscape, this is a great place to start.
All you need to do is head up to Blunn Creek Preserve in south Austin. There you'll find what's called volcanic tuff, the ash that came off of the volcano that sits underneath St. Ed's.
During that time 80 million years ago, this area was covered by a sea about 200 feet deep, and it wasn't the only volcano.
"There are 200 of these submarine volcanos all along what's called the Balcones Fault Zone," said Chris Karan, a geologist.
So will it ever erupt again? Karan says they never say never when it comes to Mother Nature, but it's been extinct for close to 80 million years.
It's true. St. Edward's University is built on the mouth of a volcano that dates back 80 million years. If you're wanting to learn about the history of our landscape, this is a great place to start.
All you need to do is head up to Blunn Creek Preserve in south Austin. There you'll find what's called volcanic tuff, the ash that came off of the volcano that sits underneath St. Ed's.
During that time 80 million years ago, this area was covered by a sea about 200 feet deep, and it wasn't the only volcano.
"There are 200 of these submarine volcanos all along what's called the Balcones Fault Zone," said Chris Karan, a geologist.
So will it ever erupt again? Karan says they never say never when it comes to Mother Nature, but it's been extinct for close to 80 million years.
# posted by kevin : 9:10 AM
