Earthquakes In The Midwest
The formation of Rio Grande Valley was not caused by erosion from the Rio Grande River, but by a rift beneath the earth that shifted some 35 million years ago. Every weekend since winter storms began dumping snow on the Jemez Mountains, I have driven the awesome New Mexico route 4 to the huge caldera that formed where the Rio Grande Rift intersects the Jemez Lineamen, a geologic line that formed at the same time as the Mountains. It is quiet now, but small scale earthquakes remind us that the rift is still evolving. The Park Service staff at Valles Caldera National Preserve grooms cross country ski trails every winter when the Valle Grande becomes a giant bowl of snow. The Jemez mountains provide some of the most beautiful scenery in the state and this has been a the best winter in years for skiing.
The prehistoric earthquake that created the valley we live in was one of many that formed our stunning western landscape. Recent earthquakes have devastating effects not only on the land, but also on its people. In 1989 I was on a concert tour of Japan when our hosts interrupted our rehearsal to show us the Loma Prieta Earthquake on television. Not understanding how far San Francisco is from Philadelphia, they were worried that our friends and neighbors were affected while we were out of the country. It was a catastrophe, to be sure, but not the total collapse of our community and central government as happened during the recent disaster in Haiti.
Could this happen in New Mexico? The answer is maybe. The Albuquerque Volcanoes formed only about 140,000 years ago along a fracture zone within the Rio Grande Rift. They are dormant but not extinct. This month at Madeleine’s Place in Corrales, Dr. John Geissman, Professor and Chair, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico, will discuss the seismic hazards that exist in the Rio Grande Rift, and other earthquake prone areas in the western US.
Time & Location
· Speaker: Dr. John W. Geissman, Professor and Chair, UNM Earth and Planetary Sciences Department
· Date: April 24, 2010
· Time: 10:00am-12noon
· Location: Madeleine’s Place Event Center, 3824 Corrales Road, Corrales
Many thanks to David Edwards of New Mexico Tea company for providing refreshments. http://www.nmteaco.com/
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