The Ring of Fire Is Roaring to Life and There Will Be Earthquakes
of Historic Importance on the West Coast of the United States
End of the American
Dream
Does it seem
to you like there has been an unusual amount of seismic activity
around the world lately? Well, it isn't just your imagination. The
Ring of Fire is roaring to life and that is really bad news for
the west coast of the United States. Approximately 90 percent of
all earthquakes and approximately 75 percent of all volcanic eruptions
occur along the Ring of Fire. Considering the fact that the entire
west coast of the United States lies along the Ring of Fire, we
should be very concerned that the Ring of Fire is becoming more
active. On Wednesday, the
most powerful strike-slip earthquake ever recorded happened
along the Ring of Fire. If that earthquake had happened in a major
U.S. city along the west coast, the city would have been entirely
destroyed. Scientists tell us that there is nearly a 100% certainty
that the "Big One" will hit California at some point. In recent
years we have seen Japan, Chile, Indonesia and New Zealand all get
hit by historic earthquakes. It is inevitable that there will be
earthquakes of historic importance on the west coast of the United
States as well. So far we have been very fortunate, but that good
fortune will not last indefinitely.
In a previous
article, I showed that earthquakes
are becoming more frequent around the globe. In 2001, there
were 137
earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater and in 2011 there were 205.
The charts and data that I presented in that previous article show
a clear upward
trend in large global earthquakes over the past decade, and
that is why what happened this week is so alarming.
On Wednesday,
a magnitude
8.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia and that was
rapidly followed by a magnitude
8.2 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. Fortunately those
gigantic earthquakes did not produce a devastating tsunami, but
that doesn't mean that those earthquakes were not immensely powerful.
Normally we
only see about one earthquake of magnitude 8.0 or greater per year.
The magnitude 8.6 earthquake was the most powerful strike-slip earthquake
in recorded history. If that earthquake had happened in the United
States, it would have probably been the worst natural disaster in
U.S. history. The following is from an article posted on
The Extinction Protocol....
I’ve
never heard of a strike-slip lateral earthquake of this great
a magnitude; especially under water. Preliminary assessment of
the Indonesian quakes by U.S. geologists suggests one plate lurched
past each other as much as 70 feet. San Andreas is a strike-slip,
lateral- can we even imagine two sections of ground moving 70
feet near San Francisco? Had the force of the Sumatra quakes been
unleashed upon San Andreas, the city would have been completely
destroyed.
And earthquake
activity along the west coast has definitely been heating up in
recent days.
On Wednesday,
a magnitude
5.9 earthquake struck approximately 160 miles off of the coast
of Oregon.
Early on Thursday,
there were two major earthquakes (magnitude
6.9 and magnitude 6.2) in the Gulf of California.
It is only
a matter of time before the "Big One" hits California.
Sadly, most
Americans (especially young Americans) can't even tell you what
the Ring of Fire is. The following is how Wikipedia
defines the "Ring of Fire"....
The Pacific
Ring of Fire (or sometimes just the Ring of Fire) is an area where
large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the
basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a 40,000 km (25,000 mi) horseshoe
shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic
trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements.
The entire
west coast of the United States falls along the Ring of Fire and
a massive network of faults runs underneath California, Oregon and
Washington.
At this point,
scientists tell us that the west coast is long overdue for a major
earthquake. An article in Time Magazine a few years ago stated
the following....
California
has more than 300 faults running beneath its surface, including
the massive San Andreas Fault, yet the quake to end all quakes
has yet to occur. In 1980, a federal report declared the likelihood
of a major earthquake striking California within the next 30 years
to be "well in excess of 50%."
Unfortunately,
the truth is that is a very, very conservative estimate. The west
coast has always been extremely unstable and it always will be.
At some point there is going to be a tragedy of unimaginable proportions
on the west coast.
Just hope that
you are not there when it happens.
But it isn't
just California, Oregon and Washington that should be concerned.
According to
the Arizona Geological Survey, there were 131
earthquakes in the state of Arizona in 2011. That was a huge
increase from just 53 in 2010.
And of course
an absolutely nightmarish earthquake could occur along the New
Madrid fault at any time, but that is a topic for another article.
As far as the
Ring of Fire is concerned, another major threat is volcanic activity.
One of these
days, one or more of the major volcanoes on the west coast is going
to experience a major eruption again. There have been signs that
Mt. Rainier has been becoming
more active, and a major eruption of Mt. Rainier could potentially
be absolutely devastating for much of the northwest United States.
Of even greater
concern along the Ring of Fire is Mt. Fuji. As I wrote about the
other day, Mt. Fuji has been dormant for about 300 years but
is now rapidly roaring to life. New craters have appeared and these
new craters are venting gas. There has been a swarm of earthquakes
under Mt. Fuji this year, including a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on
March 15th.
If Mt. Fuji
were to experience a full-blown eruption, the consequences could
be absolutely catastrophic. Mt. Fuji is not too far from Tokyo -
one of the most densely populated cities on the entire planet. The
loss of life resulting from a full-blown eruption of Mt. Fuji would
be almost unimaginable.
But it is not
just along the Ring of Fire that we are seeing a rise in volcanic
activity. The truth is that we are seeing a rise in volcanic
activity all over the globe. The following are just a couple
of recent examples which have been in the news....
- The volcanoes
in Iceland that caused such huge problems a few years ago are
becoming very active once
again.
- Authorities
in Colombia have declared a "red alert" and believe that an eruption
of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano is
imminent.
- Ash
is venting at the world famous Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia.
Something really
strange is going on.
Most scientists
will deny it or will attempt to downplay it until they are blue
in the face, but the truth is that the trembling of our planet is
getting worse.
If this shaking
continues to get worse, there are going to be some absolutely horrific
tragedies in the years ahead.
Reprinted
with permission from End
of the American Dream.
April
14, 2012
Copyright
© 2012 End
of the American Dream
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