Wyoming's Newly Formed "Gash" has the Nation in Awe

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Wyoming’s Newly Formed “Gash” has the Nation in Awe

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Recently, a giant “gash” or “crack” has been found in the Southern Foothills of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. SNS Outfitter and Guides, who offer guided elk, antelope, deer, moose and bear hunts, were the first to inform the world just last Friday. They thought the formation was interesting enough to share a photo of on their Facebook page, which ended up getting shared over 7,000 times.

Resulting from a landslide on a hill earlier this spring, the “gash” happened sometime in the past two weeks due to saturation. The area is approximately 750 yards long, 50 yards wide, and 50 feet deep. An engineer from Riverton, Wyoming, was the only one to examine the gash before any experts, since it is located on private property.

He suggested that there was a cap rock being lubricated by a spring, as well as a spring running across east to west, causing the formation to slide north. He concluded about 15 to 20 yards of movement, and since there was no seismic activity, there are no other possible explanations at the time.

SNS reported that many scientists, geologists, and reporters from all over the world have come to take a look at the formation. The world is in awe at the “gash” as if it occurred overnight. To stay up to date with the future findings about the “gash” make sure to check out SNS’s Facebook page and website: huntwyo.com and facebook.com/huntwyo

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The Wyoming Geological Survey hasn’t been able to examine the ground yet since it is on private property, but their public information specialist commentated on the fact that a landslide like this as shown in the photos, was not uncommon.

The Wyoming Geological Survey also posted a message on their Facebook page concerning the land formation or “gash”:

The WSGS is aware of the apparent active landslide in the southern end of the Big Horn Mountains, Wyo. “The Crack,” as it has been called, looks to be a relatively large yet slow moving event. Based on anecdotal evidence from postings on Facebook and other social media sites, it appears that this event may be due to groundwater creating weakness in an unstable hillside. WSGS geologists have not visited the site so we do not have any first-hand information about this event. We would like to remind the public that active landslides are typically unsafe. Please keep your distance from any active landslide in case the slope catastrophically fails. We would like to encourage the public to report any landslides they see in Wyoming to WSGS “Report a Landslide,” at wsgs.wyo.gov/hazards/report-landsl

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