[meteorite-list] Carolina Bays

From: Steven Singletary <jumper_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:43:30 2004
Message-ID: <200107091448.KAA05635_at_melbourne-city-street.mit.edu>

Well, I don't know about concrete, but there was an interesting theory put
forth about ten years ago (or there abouts) by Dr. Tom Ross, chair of the
Geology and Geography Dept. at UNC-Pembroke. As you know, that area of the
Carolinas was underwater not too long ago, geologically speaking. He
suggests the bays are whale wallows. If you've ever seen a fish bed,
you'll know what I'm talking about. They get near the bottom and create
turbulence with their fins to build up a bed, Bream are notorious for this.
 The beds sort of resemble the bays but on a much smaller scale. So when
sea level was higher, whales came in and made "beds".

Now, please keep in mind, this was a tongue-in-cheek article that appeared
in the local newspaper and you wouldn't believe how many people fell for it
hook, line, and sinker. There is one right behind our house and I always
thought it was more interesting to imagine a big whale wallowing just above
the sea floor than for the bay to be from weathering.


At 10:53 PM 6/29/01 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
>From an AP report dedicating a new bridge and by pass in South Carolina:
>There were several obsticles to overcome. One of which .....
>
>"Carolina Bays
>
>In one area of the project, there are unique earth formations called
>``Carolina Bays.'' These are large depressions theorized to
>have been formed by meteorites that crashed into the earth thousands of
>years ago. The formations hold ground water almost
>year-round and have almost no drainage due to the flat topography.
>Normally, they are filled with trees and lush vegetation.
>
>When the time came to determine how to bridge-fill over these areas, all
>parties were organized for input. The solution was
>to utilize a geosynthetic grid material while leaving the existing root
>mat system in place."
>
>Anyone aware of any concrete proof of their origins?
>
>Regards,
>Elton
>
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Steven Singletary
54-1224
Dept. Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
M.I.T.
Cambridge, Ma., 02139
Jumper_at_MIT.EDU

Blue Skies!!
Received on Mon 09 Jul 2001 10:48:22 AM PDT