T H E N AT U R E O F G E O L O G Y
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What Geologic Processes Affect the Rapid City Area?
This view of Rapid City is a satellite image superimposed over topography. Examine this scene and think about the geologic processes that might be occurring at each part of the region.
Rapid City is located along the mountain front, partly in the foothills and partly on the plains. Some parts of the city are on low areas next to Rapid Creek, which begins in the Black Hills and flows eastward through a gap in a ridge and then through the center of the city.
This part of the Black Hills consists of hard igneous and metamorphic rocks that form steep mountains and canyons. Farther north (not in this view), the world-famous Homestake Mine produced 39 million ounces of gold, more than any other mine in the Western Hemisphere. The underground mine reached depths of more than 2.5 km (8,000 ft)!
The Rapid City Flash Flood of 1972
Upturned rock layers form a ridge that divides the city in two halves. Some of the homes are right along the creek, whereas others are on the steep hillslopes.
Rapid City
The plains contain sedimentary rocks, some of which were deposited in a great inland sea and then buried by other rocks. With uplift of the mountains and erosion, the rocks came back to the surface where they are weathered and eroded today.
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Rapid City
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Rapid Creek drains a large area of the Black Hills and flows through the middle of Rapid City. A small dam forms Canyon Lake just above the city.
The area along Rapid Creek () was littered with shattered lumber and other debris from homes that were destroyed by the flash flood that occurred in 1972, an example of the hazards of living too near flowing water.
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n June of 1972, winds pushed moist air westward up the flanks of the Black Hills, forming severe thunderstorms. The huge thunderstorms remained over the mountains, where they dumped as much as 15 inches of rain in one afternoon and evening. This downpour unleashed a flash flood down Rapid Creek that was ten times larger than any previously recorded flood on the creek. The swirling flood- waters breached the dam at Canyon Lake,
which increased the volume of the flood downstream through Rapid City. The floodwaters raced toward the center of the city. These floodwaters killed 238 peo- ple and destroyed more than 1,300 homes. They caused 160 million dollars in dam- age. Most of the damage occurred along the river channel, where many homes had been built too close to the creek, and in areas low enough to be flooded by this large volume of water.
Briefly explain or sketch the landscape around Rapid City and how geology affects this landscape.
Identify and explain ways that geology affects the people of Rapid City.
Summarize the events that led to the Rapid City Flood of 1972 and why there was so much damage.
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