A hidden fuel source beneath the Midwest? Scientists are investigating.

A hidden fuel source beneath the Midwest? Scientists are investigating.

About a billion years ago, the United States was nearly ripped in half. Magma bubbled up as the Earth’s crust stretched thin somewhere around Michigan, nearly creating a new sea. Evidence of that scar, called the Midcontinent Rift, now curls around the upper Midwest, stretching from Ontario all the way down to Wichita, Kansas. Today, it’s the deepest failed rift in the world — and a 1,200-mile mining hotspot, known for its stores of copper and n…