Can a continent naturally split into two distant parts within a week?

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A meteor strike.

Meteor Crater formed in a fraction of a second as 175 million tons of limestone and bedrock were uplifted, forming the mile-wide crater rim in the formerly flat terrain. The meteorite was only 150 ft. wide. For a sense of scale, if this hit Kansas City, the blast radius would take out the entire city. (ref)

Now, in this example, Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona USA, the crater is not quite a mile wide (0.737 miles, 1.186 km), so it's very easy to traverse. But not at first.

Imagine this happens in an area with forests or other vegetation that catches on fire. Imagine that settlements in the middle of this large community were wiped out in an instant. And remember that the blast radius here is huge.

Using scaling relationships determined from nuclear explosions, the radial extent of the air blast produced by the Meteor Crater impact event is estimated. The wind velocity at a distance of 5 crater radii (3 km) from the point of impact should have exceeded 2000 km/h. Hurricane force winds would have existed as far away as 20 to 40 km, depending on the exact explosive energy of the impact event. To determine how this event may have affected the environment surrounding the crater, the topography, vegetation, and animal life that existed at the time of the impact are reconstructed. For example, if the coniferous woodlands were 100 m lower than they are presently and they had moved farther out onto the plains, then the air blast would have flattened trees within a 16 to 22 km radius of the point of impact and damaged them over an area of 4100 to 8500 km2. The distance over which the damage occurred may have been up to 2Ã— larger in some directions around the crater because of additional effects produced by the ballistic shock wave. (ref)

So sure, it's a simple trip now, but a blast that flattens trees up to 22 kilometers (13.5 miles) away, would easily be enough to separate a community for generations.

The stories they must have! And the fear of going anywhere near it. How could they know it wouldn't happen again? Maybe they'd know the impact came from the sky (if it was during the day and if the stories remember that bit), maybe not. Were the Gods angry at them for building villages in that location? Or is there some evil lurking under the surface ready to destroy any fools who venture too near?

If the cultures on either side of this were already at war, I think this would seal the deal. War over. Okay, let's go that way from now on.

If you want water separating them, a meteor crater could could land in such a way to turn a passible river into an impassible one. Or at least one that's more trouble than it's worth. In 10-20 years when the trees have grown back and people get curious, the river could have swelled. But you don't really need a water barrier to have a psychological one. Who wants to go near that place again?

Add in some geographical features like a mountain range or a waterless desert if you want to make going around even harder. Set it up however you wish.

Creating a storyline with a natural phenomenon dividing people in less than a week, lasting for generations, is quite doable. With the right geography, politics, technological level, and so forth, it's very reasonable.

posted almost 5 years ago