Thursday, December 22, 2011

Charleston Earthquake 1886 Revisited



Ok, you just go to the little search box on the right, type in Charleston, and you'll see I'm fascinated with this earthquake.

My main interest lies in the source zone, and the fact that it has shown a water dependence over the years.  Just now, there have been a couple of earthquakes there.


There is lots of water around, and I once had a fascinating tour of all the sand blows in the region.  I suspect we have a classic megathrust here, but this is really a case of earthquake blowout.  Did the 1886 earthquake create a stress shadow that has shut everything down for a long time?  It is possible.

Many of these small earthquake zones may have a 'maximum event' that shuts them down, but most of the smaller quakes just lead to larger ones in a classic fractal pattern.  Never fall for the gag that small earthquakes are 'relieving the stress' or some such thing.

No comments: