America Cracking in 2, But It’s Not Missouri’s New Madrid Fault?

There's a new theory that America is splitting in two, but it's not the New Madrid Fault in southern Missouri that is believed to be the culprit. The claim says is a geological disaster waiting to happen, but are there scientific facts to back up this belief?

A very recent video drop by Earthly says that the alleged split in the American continent is not the New Madrid Seismic Zone, but instead the Rio Grande Rift. The belief by them that this geological feature in the American southwest is in the process of expanding northward which is where they come up with the "America splitting in two" theory.

It's one thing to drop a wild theory on YouTube, but is it based in any real scientific fact? I have many thoughts so let's dig into this (no geology pun intended). First, I find it refreshing that this isn't another claim that the New Madrid Fault is about to destroy us all. When you typically hear about a mammoth earthquake or split in America happening, the seismic zone in southern Missouri is most often the villain. At least this is not that this time. There is some truth behind the thought that the Rio Grande Rift is expanding. However, it's confined to the state of New Mexico into the southern part of Colorado for now according to the USGS. The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources does say the Rio Grande Rift "is a north-south trending zone of approximately east-west oriented extension".

There is also some truth that there has been an increase in earthquake activity in New Mexico and Colorado. I check the USGS site today and there have been a half-dozen earthquakes along the Rio Grande Rift area of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado in just the past 30 days. That is a serious uptick in seismic activity for this region.

Does this mean America is about to split in two?

Good grief, no. Is the Rio Grande Rift an area of interest and earth change? Absolutely. Is it on the eve of an apocalyptic earthquake event? Again, no. Even the New Madrid Fault which is believed to be capable of a major earthquake at some point in the future will not rip America in two. I see stuff like this passed around all the time because it's sensational and similar to what you'd see in a disaster movie, but it's not something to be concerned about.