oppose the Crown Hydro project.
WIZARD MARKS wrote:
> ... Would that my argument could be dismissed as NIMBY, but it
> cannot. I don't live on the river, worse luck, but the reasons
> for keeping this project off the space where Crown wants it to
> be are much deeper, and a great deal more important, than NIMBY.
>
> We have all witnessed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, ...
I will let someone else explore the risk that hurricanes,
volcanoes and tsunamis pose to the proposed Crown Hydro project...
> As well, this particular river is on the New Madras Fault Line
> and while the fault line has not kicked up a major fuss since
> the 1870s, it does have minor tremors and could, of course, have
> another major shake up. ...
Apparently, the New Madrid Fault has also been "implicated"
in the imminent collapse of a bridge, as well.
dyna wrote:
> Wizard, thank you for your observations of the structural
> instability of the river. I'd completely forgotten about the New
> Madrid fault, and perhaps the geologic trauma you've noted may
> explain the shifting of the Lowry Avenue Bridge's pillars that
> threaten to dump those venerable trusses into the river. ...
Never mind that the New Madrid fault zone is nowhere near
Minneapolis...
The University of Arkansas Seismic Observatory has a whole page
of links devoted to the New Madrid Fault Zone:
<http://quake.ualr.edu/public/nmfz.htm>
Of possible relevance:
"The New Madrid Seismic zone lies within the central Mississippi
Valley, extending from northeast Arkansas, through southeast
Missouri, western Tennessee, western Kentucky to southern
Illinois. Historically, this area has been the site of some of
the largest earthquakes in North America.
<http://www.eas.slu.edu/Earthquake_Center/SEISMICITY/NewMadridGeneral.html>
A nice picture of the location of known earth quakes in the
area is available at:
<http://www.ceri.memphis.edu/aware/nmsz.html>
The USGS has a page on the New Madrid fault zone:
<http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/prepare/factsheets/NewMadrid/>
The USGS even has a nice map of the area affected by the
1895 magnitude 6.8 New Madrid earth quake:
<http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/prepare/factsheets/NewMadrid/Charleston1895.gif>
The mere fact that the location of the proposed Crown Hydro
project wasn't seriously affected by a major quake on the New
Madrid fault shouldn't deter critics of the Crown Hydro project.
Of course, this this doesn't _prove_ that an earth quake
_couldn't_ happen in Minneapolis. The USGS (yes, yes, I
know, it's part of the U.S. government and therefore
automatically suspect by some on this list) even has
information about earthquakes in Minnesota:
<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/?region=Minnesota>
According to the USGS, the "largest earthquake in Minnesota"
"caused minor damage to walls and foundations of basements in
Stevens County around Morris". No word of bridge or dam
collapses.
They even have a nice seismic hazard map for Minnesota:
<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/minnesota/hazards.php>
The emergency preparedness and conspiracy folks may also want
to look at the DNR's page on volcanoes, earthquakes, and
glaciers in Minnesota:
<http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/education/geology/digging/index.html>
More than you ever wanted to know,
-tjs