5.7 Quake In Greenville, California Starts Earthquake Swarm

A USGS map of the May 23, 2013 quake in Greenville, California

May 23, 2013 quake in Greenville, California (click to enlarge)

A 5.7 earthquake struck Greenville, California late Thursday night, May 23, 2013, but the quake didn’t stop there.

The Greenville area experienced 62 quakes following the 5.7 rumbler, with the largest quake a 4.9 magnitude.

The initial earthquake was felt in downtown Sacramento, about 145 miles south of the quake’s epicenter.

Juan de Fuca

The next day on May 25, 2013,  more earthquakes occurred off the coast of Oregon (4.0) and in Coldfoot, Alaska (4.4).

The Juan de Fuca Plate is one of the most active, and dangerous, crustal plates on our planet, and it is an area to carefully monitor for both upcoming earthquakes and volcanoes.

A USGS chart and map describing the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate.

The Juan de Fuca Plate off the USA Pacific Northwest – USGS (click to enlarge)

In the Pacific Northwest, the Juan de Fuca Plate plunges under North America. As the denser ocean crust is forced deep into the Earth’s interior beneath the continental plate at the USA’s West Coast (a process known as “subduction”), it encounters high temperatures and pressures that partially melt the rock. Some of this newly formed magma rises toward the Earth’s surface to erupt, forming a chain of volcanoes above the subduction zone.

Between the Pacific and Juan de Fuca Plates is a broad, submarine mountain chain about 500 kilometers long (300 miles) known as the Juan de Fuca Ridge.

The Juan de Fuca Plate will continue to dive beneath Oregon and  the High Cascades, so keep an eye on activity coming from the Juan de Fuca.

Landslides All Over The Globe

Many times, humans develop too close to cliff sides, and their homes and buildings are damaged when the cliff breaks apart.

Landslides are occurring all over the globe.

On March 28, 2013, the cliffs of Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington state slid into the Pacific Ocean. The next day, on March 29, 2013, a  large section of the UK’s famous white cliffs of Dover broke away and crashed into the English Channel. Tons of rock collapsed into the sea between Langdon Cliffs and South Foreland Lighthouse.

What’s Going On?

People are guessing that freezing conditions over the winter may have weakened the chalk cliffs of Dover. They are also guessing that heavy rains weakened the cliffs of Whidbey Island, halfway across the globe. Water does expand in freezing conditions, but these cliffs have stood for millennia withstanding winter ice and Spring storms. What’s different today?

Landslides and Earthquakes

On February 7, 2008, the biggest earthquake in the UK in 25 years shook the island country. On average, several hundred earthquakes are detected by the British Geological Survey each year, but most are too faint to be felt, and generally cause very little damage. But, there have been 62 earthquakes in the past year along the North Mid-Atlantic Ridge located SSW from the UK , with the largest a 5.7 earthquake in 2013. These quakes can influence the island of Great Britain.

Whidbey Island off the coast of Washington state is on the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, which is one of the smallest of the Earth’s tectonic plates, but one of the most dangerous earthquake zones on the planet. The north-west coast of the USA could be devastated by a huge movement of the Juan de Fuca. In 2008, small earthquake swarms began within the Juan de Fuca, and more than 600 quakes were occurring within 10 days periods.

Human beings cannot prevent or delay Earth changes and natural disasters.

The Increase in Global Earthquakes

On The Rise

Since 2008, earthquake activity has increased around the globe, destabilizing the weakest parts of the Earth’s crust. Fueled by both internal and external forces, the Earth is now in a dynamic state of motion. Earthquakes send out a strong resonance that can create powerful winds and a tremendous force that stresses the crust. Today, the forces holding the Earth in place are changing…and the increase in natural disasters is our living proof.

Watch for more landslides worldwide in the areas resonating from the increase in earthquakes along the coasts.

Remember the old saying ….. When mountains tumble into the sea…?

 

 

Landslide Forces Evacuations in Washington State

Many times, humans develop too close to cliff sides, and their homes and buildings are damaged when the cliff breaks apart.

A house built on a cliff too close to an active disaster zone.

According to an ABC news article, it is unclear what triggered Wednesday’s landslide along Puget Sound’s shoreline. So far, 25 homes have been affected by the landslide that occurred about 4:15 a.m. on the west side of Whidbey Island near the town of Coupeville. Residents heard what sounded like thunder before the massive landslide shaved the island banks in Washington state. What created the disaster?

The news explains that “something” is putting pressure on the high slopes along the Pacific shore causing the Earth to move. Um hum, let’s back up a minute. Yes, it is important to realize that “recent Earth shifting” is putting pressure on the high slopes along the Pacific shore, but let’s NOT FORGET that unsafe building locations are why this Earth movement has forced evacuations

What’s Happening and What To Do About It

We need to look at the bigger picture within the Earth itself to determine what to do next. We are looking in the wrong places for the answers to Earth events such as this. No one wants to admit that we have built in the WRONG places, but don’t blame Mother Nature. Leaving these volatile shorelines undeveloped would NOT have ended in disaster – no harm would have been done in the natural world.

When will we stop building, and re-building – in the wrong places? We build skyscrapers and nuclear

Bridges are constructed in areas prone to natural disasters.

Bridging Over Disaster Zones

power plants on top of earthquake zones. We construct double-decker bridges across miles of fractured oceans. We build cities and airports at the bases of volcanoes, and we design housing developments, like the homes on Whidbey Island, too close to the edge. Then we blame nature when earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and floods destroy our possessions. Our focus on material conforts is distorting our awareness that this planet is mightier than our need for  “comfortable lifestyles.”

Nature can change in an instant, and it is, right now, right under our noses. No amount of money and technology will ever change it.

Technology

Technology is a remarkable thing and it has, no doubt, enhanced our quality of life, but it has also given us a false sense of security. Our overabundance of man-made paraphernalia has created the illusion that humans are immune to outside influences. Then, when a natural disaster occurs, we play the victim and blame Nature. Humans believe that we can ultimately control Nature and our environments. This outlook must change because Earth movements are increasing. 

Come on people, don’t rebuild these homes along Puget Sound’s shoreline. It’s time to actively adopt a new view of the Earth. THEN, we can thrust our wishes and desires in the right direction, into a place that is more down-to-Earth, and certainly more in synch with the on-going power of this planet.