* Astronomy

Bend in Appalachian mountain chain finally explained

The 1500 mile Appalachian mountain chain runs along a nearly straight line from Alabama to Newfoundland - except for a curious bend in Pennsylvania and New York State. Researchers from the College of New Jersey and the University of Rochester now know what caused that bend - a dense, underground block of rigid, volcanic rock forced the chain to shift eastward as it was forming millions of years ago.
According to Cindy Ebinger, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester, scientists had previously known about the volcanic rock structure under the Appalachians.
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