Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi

Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay

The Kilmichael Structure is a small structural disturbance about 9 kilometers in diameter in central Mississippi. It consists of a central uplift where Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks are uplifted about 450 m relative to their normal stratigraphic level. The uplift is surrounded by a graben with about 150 meters of subsidence, and an outer ring of fault blocks. The maps above show the approximate central part of the structure.

Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi To a casual visitor, the best indication of dsturbance is in pits and roadcuts where layers are tilted in a region where nothing should be tilted.

The rocks are soft sandstones and saprolite.
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi On smaller scales the saprolite shows fracturing and brecciation.
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Faulting in sandstone.
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Shatter cones! You wish. Closer examination shows this texture is merely due to rainfall. The clincher is the small pedestals capped by pebbles (below).
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi  
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Local agriculture.
Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi Kilmichael Structure, Mississippi

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Created 30 December 2005, Last Update 07 June 2020