Earthquakes
July 27, 2015 - Magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Alaska's Aleutian Islands followed by ongoing aftershocks.
Earthquakes cause volcanic eruptions
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones belonging to both the United States and Russia. The islands, with their 57 volcanoes, are in the northern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Because of the location of the islands, stretching like a broken bridge from Asia to America, many anthropologists believe they were a route of the first human occupants of the Americas. The earliest known evidence of human occupation in the Americas is much farther south; the early human sites in Alaska have probably been submerged by rising waters during the current interglacial period. The U.S. conducted underground tests of nuclear weapons on Amchitka Island from 1965 to 1971 as part of the Vela Uniform program. The program involved numerous experiments using conventional high explosives. The final detonation, the Cannikin, was the largest underground nuclear explosion by the U.S. Read more
The April 1, 1946 Aleutian Islands 8.1 earthquake was followed by a Pacific-wide tsunami. It resulted in 165 casualties (159 people on Hawaii and six in Alaska) and over $26 million in damages. Multiple destructive waves at heights ranging from 45-130 ft occurred. The tsunami obliterated the Scotch Cap Lighthouse on Unimak Island, Alaska among others, and killed all five lighthouse keepers. The wave reached Kauai 4.5 hours after the quake, and Hilo 4.9 hours later. The tsunami was unusually powerful for the size of the earthquake and due to the discrepancy between the size of the tsunami and the relatively low magnitude on the surface wave magnitude scale, it is classified as a tsunami earthquake. The large-scale destruction prompted the creation of the Seismic Sea Wave Warning System, which later became the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in 1949.
100 earthquakes happen everyday in Nevada, but a particular series of quakes is raising questions and concerns. Since Thursday, 26 earthquakes have hit Northern Nevada, with the largest being a 4.6. Experts say it's not unusual to see a swarm of earthquakes like this. However what is unusual is how long this particular pattern has been on the radar beginning July 2014. In this sequence we've seen over 200 magnitude 3s and about 20 magnitude 4s or larger. A sequence like this could happen in the Reno area devastating our society and economy. Read more
In the world of politics, one TV station sent a reporter out to find anyone who could name all of the current Republican candidates. No one could but some people were close.
I follow Donald Trump - if anything for entertainment purposes. If anything, he shows us why our two-party system no longer works - if it ever did - yet I understand where he is coming from, and like millions of his supporters, wonder if could make a difference. No one likes him as a person, but this is not a congeniality contest. This is about trying to rescue a broken set of systems in the time remaining. We know that won't happen but at least he makes the political games more interesting.
I could agree with some of these names... Worth checking out ...
Our Fantasy List Of eighteen 2016 Independent Candidates Huffington Post - July 27, 2015
Obama begins talks with Ethiopia's PM Hailemariam Desalegn BBC - July 27, 2015
Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown dies at 22 BBC - July 27, 2015
Michael Jackson's father Joe in Brazil hospital after stroke on 87th birthday Sky News - July 27, 2015
Bill Cosby: 35 of his accusers have been photographed and interviewed by New York Magazine BBC - July 27, 2015
