According to the Kentucky Geological Survey, Pine Mountain in Kentucky has actually moved from its original position.
Pine Mountain is a mountain ridge that runs through Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The highest point of Pine Mountain has an elevation of 3,273 feet.
There are several natural areas on the mountain ridge that are set up as state resort parks in Kentucky. The area itself is known as the Black Bear Capital of Kentucky.
Pine Mountain is located in the southeastern corner of Kentucky and it sits on top of the Pine Mountain Thrust Fault.
A thrust fault is a different type of fault from normal faults such as the New Madrid Fault Zone. In a thrust fault, there is a break in the upper part of the Earth's crust resulting in a block of strata pushed up over another block of strata.
The tremendous pressure from the sliding plates beneath the Earth's crust forced the rocks from the Virginia side over those on the Kentucky side.
As a result of sitting atop this type of fault, Pine Mountain has moved several miles.
Geologists claim that the northern part of Pine Mountain has been thrust 4 miles from its original position. The southern part located in Tennessee has moved 11 miles and a part that includes the city of Harlan has moved from 6 to 8 miles.
The good news is that the movement occurred hundreds of millions of years ago when the North American continent collided with Africa and Europe during the Paleozoic Era.
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