Natural Gas Mounds

Urban exploration in Arkansas
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Virtus
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Natural Gas Mounds

Post by Virtus »

Have any of you seen any good sites where natural gas has bubbled up and left mounds? Just outside of Batesville, Arkansas there is a field that is full of small mounds. Origionally these mounds were thought to be Native American burial mounds, but after closer inspection people came to believe they were made by natural gas bubbles. They are only a foot or two deep and are circular. It is believed that when the New Madrid went off in the early 1800s that it caused the gas to bubble up out of the ground, but that's just a guess. Have any of you seen anything similar to this?
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Nicotti
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Re: Natural Gas Mounds

Post by Nicotti »

Natural gas bubbling up earth seems unlikely, I looked it up and found this:
http://www.naturalheritage.com/!userfil ... s_text.pdf
Page 19-20 wrote:p. 19
RECENT CLIMATE

Since the last glaciers retreated, about 8,000 years ago, the climate of Arkansas has changed dramatically. Part of the story of those changes is told by areas around the state where the land surface is covered with low mounds two or three feet high and 40 to 50 feet in diameter. These mounds are usually referred to as prairie mounds or more expressively as “prairie pimples,” and the explanations for them are numerous.

For many years, some people thought that the mounds were constructed by Native Americans, but archeological research has not found artifacts or other data to support this theory. Other ideas or explanations that are not supported by any evidence include: the mounds being formed by pockets of gas pushing up the surface, very large ant hill origins, or even very large prairie dog colonies.

A more scientifically acceptable theory is one that looks at the climatic history of the region. During the last 7,000 years, there were periods when the climate of Arkansas was cold and arid. The driest sites were occupied by desert-like shrubs. These sites were flat or gently rolling which allowed the wind to circulate freely and dry out the surface. These sites also had a subsoil of clay or rock that limited the ability of the plants to obtain groundwater, especially during the dry periods. This, in turn, limited any plant growth or groundcover between the scattered shrubs. Winds eroded away exposed soil on these sites and deposited it under the shrubs, leading to the formation of mounds.

The climate has moderated gradually since that time, and prairie vegetation replaced the desert plants. Prairie grasses are adapted to a climate which is too dry for trees and too moist for desert, so when Arkansas’s climate moderated enough for these conditions to exist, the areas which had been desert became grassland.

When settlers arrived, they associated the mounds with prairie, so they called them "prairie" pimples but they might more appropriately be called "desert" pimples instead. Though the pimples were generally associated with prairie, they are often to be seen in forests as well. The climate of the state has continued to become more moist and as it has done so, trees have gradually overgrown the prairies. People have hurried the process by plowing the prairies and even leveling off the pimples.

p. 20
The largest prairie in the state at the time of settlement was the 400,000 acre Grand Prairie which extended from Lonoke to Arkansas Post. Now, due to the pressures of rice and soybean cultivation, virtually all evidence of its prairie history has been obliterated. Elsewhere in the state, prairie habitat and the pimples have fared somewhat better. Prairie pimples can still be seen around Fayetteville and along the terrace land in the Arkansas River Valley, especially around Ft. Smith and Conway. Look along the terraces from Jonesboro to Brinkley, from Bald Knob to Searcy and from Monticello to Crossett and look from Arkadelphia to Hope. They occur elsewhere too, but you might have to look closer to find them.
More online investigation than onsite exploration these days.

“My dear fellow, who will let you?”
“That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
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jkm001
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RE: Natural Gas Mounds

Post by jkm001 »

You should look at this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mima_mounds

There's something similar near Siloam Springs I've heard various origin stories for (natural gas, native Americans, buffalo wallows, etc).
Virtus
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Re: Natural Gas Mounds

Post by Virtus »

Those are very interesting responses. Thank you for sharing! The mounds are located in a flat field so I could see the desert theory being a good explanation for them.
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