This Day in History November 29, 1975

Crack in Hilina Pali road, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Peter Lipman, U.S. Geological Survey

This is really a scary picture for me.  On this date in 1975, the largest local earthquake to hit Hawaii since 1868--aptly called Kalapana Earthquake of 1975(since this was the area in which the quake was located--Hawaii's southeastern coast). At 3:35 A.M. a 5.57 magnitude quake hit.  Aftershocks continued for several months afterwards.  A second, more powerful shock occurred about and hour later and measure 7.2.

Shortly after the earthquake, a tsunami reached 14.6 meters in height. Two campers died as a result.  Amazingly, these were the only two fatalities, and 28 other people were injured.  Because population density was so low in the area where it hit, damage was relatively minimal--about $4 million worth of damages (at least $13 million by today's standards, probably more).

The major disruption from the earthquakes/tsunami came due to displacement of the earth's crust, as evidenced by the opening picture.  I won't go into all the details--check out the links below.  It is actually that picture that looks scary to me.  Whenever I look at a significant crack in the earth's surface, I always think of the dissenters in Moses' time who were swallowed by the earth. It must be quite frightening to see the earth open up like that!  I am surprised at the low casualty rate.  I am also quite grateful for that because it seems like whenever a natural disaster occurs, there is a large number of deaths and property damage.  But it must have been scary all the same!

For more information, check out the following links:
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/earthquakes/content/cat_490/bt00eh03.htm#Kalapana, Island of Hawaii, 1975
http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1975Hawaii.html
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/earthquakes/destruct/1975Nov29/
http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/web_tsus/19751129/19751129.htm

This Day in History August 24, 79 A.D.

Okay, I know this is not a cheery happening, but I am sure you have heard of this historical event before.  This is a modern-day picture of the famous Mount Vesuvius that erupted on this date back in 79 A.D.  I hadn't realized that this is the only active volcano in mainland Europe.  I guess I never spent much time thinking about it.

This map will give you a general idea of where this mountain is located.  In the last 17,000 years, this volcano has erupted eight times.  It is said that this eruption may have killed as many as 16,000 people.

On a side note, this eruption is the reason volcanologists call large volcanic eruption clouds "Plinian."  They are named after Pliny, the younger, a Roman historian who witnessed and chronicled this very eruption.  These are the same clouds that were witness at the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state. (I still remember that!  I was alive, and I will never forge the ash on the cars!!)  


For further study, click here.

For a video dramatization, click here.