Plothole: Cliffs in Iowa?

[Franklin]

I have driven through Iowa, and you don't know flat until you come here, to Oklahoma

Well, being from Iowa, I must say it's not Oklahoma flat, or central Illinois flat, for that matter (I swear you can see the Sears Tower from Normal). The landscape can mostly be likened to a rolling sea, as exaggerated by Grant Wood in his landscapes. To be fair, there are pool table flat spots, though. And, rather big bluffs around the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. And, the area around Riverside is a flat part of the state until you get up by Iowa City.

Having grown up only about two miles from a quarry, I never gave any thought to the quarry being in the movie (though it was nowhere that big).

I grew up in Roscoe! We were darn near neighbors. Wisconsin is hella hilly, but trust me, you haven't seen flat until you head west of Oklahoma City.

Hey, I spent a night in Clinton, Oklahoma, once. Just once.

 

[marc0702]

i was under the impression that it was where the enterprise was going to be built? like they dug up the ground and need to build the structure around the ship before they build it kinda thing.

 

[cooleddie74]

Isn't the entire state of Nebraska one big cliff hole?

(*Runs*)

 

[fresh]

Oops (double-post)

 

[fresh]

The Quarry used is in New England, and the car chase was in California.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=10303070

 

[Brent]

It is a rock quarry, can't believe so many are confused by this. It even had a fence that Kirk broke though, to keep people away from it. Yes, it is deep, big, 300 years in the future they can mine out some pretty big quarries, not hard to believe.

 

[DEWLine]

Wondering what kind of havoc the collapse of the Oglalla Aquifer - or others like it under Iowa - could have on the state's geology...?

 

[Jeri]

The Quarry used is in New England...

"Graniteville" -- I love it. I would have liked to see the pictures a little bit bigger.

 

[Greg Cox]

Clearly you've forgotten the Great Iowa Earthquake of 2037 . . . . .

 

[Jeri]

Don't build on the New Madrid; the Mississippi may reverse into your back yard.

 

[DEWLine]

I'd almost forgotten the New Madrid Seismic Zone!

 

[MisterPL]

I don't think there's any cliffs in Iowa anywhere near as steep as the one shown in the beginning car chase.

Not yet, no.

Exactly what I was thinking. Maybe there will be.

I imagine that's where the raw materials will come from when building starships in Iowa. (FUTURE quarries!)

 

[FredH]

Weirdly surgical nuke damage from World War III?

 

[TrekkkkkerT]

This is such an old topic, I'm not sure anyone is watching it anymore, but I did run across this IMDb information on filming locations.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/locations?mode=desktop

 

[M'Sharak]

This is such an old topic, I'm not sure anyone is watching it anymore, but I did run across this IMDb information on filming locations.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0796366/locations?mode=desktop

Yes, the "cliffs in Iowa" are actually a Vermont granite quarry:

Rock of Ages' Smith Quarry - 772 Graniteville Road, Barre, Vermont, USA
(Young James T. Kirk's car cliff plunge)

which was digitally inserted into the landscape of "Iowa" (in the film portrayed ably, if not 100% convincingly, by an agricultural district located near Bakersfield, California.)

Edit:
Since this thread was last active nearly seven and a half years ago, I should probably let it go back to sleep now. It's had a big day.