Earthquakes

In regards to the two earthquakes today--one near Trinidad, CO (5.3) and the other near Mineral, VA (5.8). Its worth checking out the USGS seismic hazard maps, as both earthquakes occurred where it was predicted earthquakes were likely. (The star shows where today's earthquake occurred.)

Colorado: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2011/eq_110823_c0005idz/neic_c0005idz_z.html

Virginia: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eq_depot/2011/eq_110823_se082311a/se082311a_z.html

For some more interesting discussion of today's earthquakes, see: http://live.washingtonpost.com/east-coast-earthquake.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost.

Although the east coast is an old plate boundary, it can still have minor earthquake activity. The New Madrid fault zone near St. Louis, MO is a zone with potentially large earthquakes. According to USGS "The geologic record of pre-1811 earthquakes reveals that the New Madrid seismic zone has repeatedly produced sequences of major earthquakes, including several of magnitude 7 to 8, over the past 4,500 years." The 1811-1812 earthquakes included three earthquakes with a magnitude likely more than 7.

It is good to prepare for how to respond to an earthquake (stop, cover and hold on), even if you live on the east coast. Learn more about earthquake "drills" from the Great Shake Out program, see http://www.shakeout.org/.

Finally, a good commercial

Have you seen the latest Payless commercial? Its about paleontologists. =)

Keys, tents and travels, oh my!

My feeble excuse for the lack of posts is my busy summer schedule. In May I went to Grand Canyon to help with their paleo program. I had a great time there. First, there were trees (imagine, not being able to see for miles in every direction while running). Second, there was snow! And hail. And rain. I had a nice place to stay, I went running to see the South Rim every day, and I worked with great people.

Since June, I have been working in Kanab, UT, which is only 1hr 15min from Page, but feels a world away. Utah is a different time zone, and although I try to stay on UT time, I still spend a lot of time adding and subtracting hours and trying to make sure I'm not late for work. Kanab has been around a lot longer than Page, and used to be the site of many western films. It is thrown in with the Salt Lake City/St. George/Cedar City news cycle, rather than the Flagstaff and northern Arizona news. There are some really great restaurants here, and more variety in terms of what is at the grocery stores.

For the first half of my time here I camped and/or drove back and forth. I camped both in town (with a showerhouse and even wireless internet) and on BLM land (beautiful vistas and solitude). Both were good in their own ways. Now I am renting a bedroom in a house, which frees up more time to catch up on things in the evenings.