Much As I Loved It, I’m Not Going Back

Behind science news stories, which are facts or predictions of facts, is a reality which gives them their context and sometimes their meaning. Science magazine, January 23, 2014: “A new analysis . . . indicates that modern-day rumblings in the New Madrid Seismic Zone are not echoes of the 1811 to 1812 quakes, however. Instead, […]

Buried Violence: the Ouachita Sleepers

I swear, you could get a good start at being a practicing geologist, just from looking at maps.  These lovely looping patterns are a satellite’s view of some mountains in southeastern Oklahoma.  They are the Ouachita, pronounced Wachita and mispronounced Wichita. I’m fond of the Ouachita – they’re sleepers. And given what went on underneath […]

Heather’s earthquakes vs. Ann’s: choose Heather’s

At 5:04 on the morning of July 16, 2010, I woke up because the bed was vibrating, as was the floor.  A small rumbling noise moved through the room and on out, and I thought, “earthquake,” and went back to sleep.  It turned out to have been a magnitude 3.6 – pretty big for these […]