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| 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake |
Recently, in the last few years, many earthquakes have occurred in China. Just a few days ago, there were approximately 200 deaths due to an earthquake which happened in the same area as a devastating event about 5 years ago. The Wenchuan Quake of May 2008 found tens of thousands dead or missing.
The epicenter of the recent event is near the eastern foothills of the Himalayas. This mountain range is still forming because the Austro-Indian plate is pushing into the Eurasian plate. Rock underneath the surface has been crushed and rolled right on top of one another, causing an uplift.
This phenomenon is similar to when one has a sheet of paper and pushes one side against another. The paper "rolls." If one squeezes the paper on a flat table surface, the paper rolls upward. This experiment shows how it is that mountains are formed.
Being near a mountain range during an earthquake could be quite dangerous due to landslides and mass wasting. Massive boulders on top of the mountains can easily tumble over, destroying anything in it's path. Add to this faulty building codes, subsidence that compromise foundations along with countless of people trapped in a confined area and one has a recipe for an astronomical environmental hazard. This is what happened five years ago and it is what happened less than two weeks ago.
Another cause of the landslides and mass wasting is due to the fact that the Himalayas are getting very high. These humongous mountains will eventually collapse on itself, simply because of the weight. This is the mountain range that is home to Earth's highest peak, Mt Everest, which rises 8,848 meters above sea level (29,029 feet). Amazing thing, this plate tectonics!
Though most of us see earthquakes as a "bad" thing (myself included), this phenomenon is actually a good thing. It is a side effect of a process that keeps life on Earth possible. Without plate tectonics, volcanoes wouldn't be. Though volcano can be quite destructive in of itself, fresh basalt deposits renews the surface, adding much minerals that allows vegetation to be sustained. Plate tectonics also is a sign that our home is indeed alive and is constantly renewing herself. Our oceans are constantly, though slowly but surely, changing, giving Earth a chance to go through these cycles of constant birth and rebirth. I do admit, however, that it is unfortunate that these events do happen when they do, wherever they do occur.
It is a constant reminder just how precious human life really is.
From Fayetteville, AR USA
--GeoJack
