Geologists confirm: Rowan plateau rock fell near Venice due to earthquake and freeze-thaw

A black mark due to the recent earthquake, as well as weather factors, was seen on the surface of the Rouen Plateau on Wednesday morning. Ray K. Arko / Post Independent

Geologists of the Bureau of Land Management have confirmed that the recent rockfall observed on the eastern slopes of the Rouen Plateau is caused by the combined force of a small-scale earthquake and the natural freeze-thaw process.

“That’s kind of a common thing out there;” BLM public affairs specialist Eric Coulter said. “Being facing town, it grabbed a little more attention. But erosion happens all the time and (that’s why) Roan Plateau looks the same. “

On February 15, a magnitude 1.8 earthquake – the largest recorded date of 9.5 was in Chile – struck 11 miles northeast of Battlement Mesa, according to the earthquake website. The echo would eventually give rise to two massive black markings on the face of the plateau, the slopes ranging from 8,000-9,000 feet above sea level.

Coulter said the two visible rocks falling onto the plateau are not exactly holes. Instead, the visible spots equate to fractured rocks, with a mixture of snow, dirt materials, and shadows causing the black marks.

With a close proximity to the Anvil Points Oil Shale Facility, a mine that housed nearly 400 acres and extracted millions of tons of shale between 1944 and 1956, Coulter said that the natural freeze-thaw process could cause further erosion.

He said, “There is a possibility of collapses and rock falls.” “Often times in this free melting process, you have water that drains through the cracks and when it solidifies, it expands and moves the rocks. And when it melts, it becomes loose.”

After the mine closed in 1956, the authority to lease the facility was granted to the US Secretary of the Interior in 1962. During the 1960s, the property was subsequently leased to the Colorado School of Mines Corporation for use in improving mining technology.

By 1972, after six years inactive, the property was leased to Development Engineering, Inc. , A company that proposed the extraction of an additional 11 million tons of oil shale. The mining operations would eventually continue until 1982.

Kent Rose, 81, who grew up in Rifle, gave Citizen Telegram a detailed moment in the history of the facility when one of the mine’s roof collapsed in the winter of 1954. The mine superintendent said at the time that the huge snowflakes nearly killed an entire crew of miners.

“That was kind of a sport there for a while,” he said. “ Snowflakes were hanging from the cliffs and taking out their hunting rifles and shooting them so they wouldn’t get too old before they fell and hurt something.

Rose said that during the snowflake shooting process, a miner went inside the mine to get something. Moments later, the miner came out covered in dirt and dust. Rose said the miner was speechless.

“Everyone went back to the mine, and part of the roof fell out of the room,” he said. “It was about 8 feet thick and crushed all the equipment that the miners – including my father – were working on. He would kill every single one of them.”

Although the miners determined that the glaciers caused the cave, Rose said, he does not expect any imminent or immediate danger to Rowan Plateau’s future.

He said: “I may assume that a large hole will form there someday if the oil shale continues to fall in those areas.” “But I don’t think this will ever happen in my life or your life.”

Coulter said BLM geologists, hazardous materials, and safety personnel continue to monitor seismic activity and meteorology at Roan Plateau. They also ultimately intend to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle near the material to estimate how much rock was emptied during the fall.

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