A whole lotta shakin’

The Alibi, an alternative newspaper in Albuquerque, examines a Duke City issue that likely hasn’t occurred to many people — the area is prone to earthquakes and volcanoes.

Route 66 travelers are at least vaguely aware about earthquakes when they travel Southern California. In fact, portions of the San Andreas Fault can be seen from the Mother Road. Less known is that the St. Louis area could experience a potentially destructive quake in the future because of the New Madrid Fault.

But volcanoes? Yes, says University of New Mexico geology professor Fred Lawrence.

The Rio Grand Rift, which extends from Central New Mexico to Central Colorado, is a regional tectonic feature wherein the ground is pulled apart while a chunk of land sinks into the Earth. “As the crust pulls apart,” says Lawrence, “the reduced pressure at great depth results in a lower melting temperature for the mantle, which then melts, and following an earthquake, the magma may be able to escape to the surface. With time, the Southwest U.S. will continue to extend, and the Rift will likely continue along with it. This in turn means we will, for the foreseeable future, have earthquakes and possibly active volcanoes.”

Indeed, there are dormant volcanoes just west of town, including a big one the locals call “Maneater.” So the good professor isn’t speaking solely from theory.

The Alibi article goes on to give appropriate earthquake preparedness tips, but the tips to surviving a volcano border on the ludicrous.

Earthquakes often strike without warning, so some survival advice seems at least warranted.

Volcanoes, on the other hand, generally rumble and steam for months, even years, before blowing their tops. I would assume that most intelligent folks nearby, seeing the ominous signs, would have had the sense to move away instead of stocking up on gas masks and hoping to tough it out against Maneater.

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