Just getting your attention

AND YOU COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR OLD SHOES?

2012-01-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

BANNING PLASTIC BAGS

2012-01-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

My town of San Luis Obispo, California has voted to eliminate plastic bags in all shops, supermarkets and so on. And protect the enviromment

and marine animals that die every year eating them, mistaking them for jellyfish. This photo shows women that were covered with them and went to the meeting with the mayor.. Bravooo!!!, I love the gringas militants and activists!!!

En mi pueblo de San Luis Obispo, California se ha votado para eliminar las bolsas de plastico en todos los negocios, supermercados etc. Y asi proteger el medio ambiente y a los animales marinos que mueren anualmente al comerlas, confundiendolas con medusas. Esta foto muestra mujeres que se cubrieron con ellas y fueron a la reunion con la alcaldesa. Bravooo!! me encantan las gringas militantes y activistas!

MENSAJES

2011-10-24T18:32:00.001-07:00

MESSAGES

2011-10-24T17:46:00.002-07:00

SAUDI WOMEN ALLOW TO VOTE IN 2011

2011-09-26T01:16:00.000-07:00

By AL ARABIYA WITH AGENCIES
DUBAI

Saudi King Abdullah announced on Sunday he was giving women the right to vote and run in municipal elections, the only public polls in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom.

He also announced that women would have the right to join the all-appointed Shura (consultative) Council, in an In a five-minute speech opening a new term of the council.

“Because we refuse to marginalize women in society in all roles that comply with sharia, we have decided, after deliberation with our senior ulama (clerics) and others... to involve women in the Shura Council as members, starting from the next term,” he said in a speech delivered to the advisory body.

“Women will be able to run as candidates in the municipal election and will even have a right to vote.”

Women’s rights are regarded as a litmus test for the government’s appetite for social and political reform. Saudi Arabia adheres to a strict version of Islamic law that enforces the segregation of the sexes.

“This is great news,” said Wajeha al-Huwaider, a Saudi writer and women’s rights activist, according to Reuters. “Women’s voices will finally be heard.”

“Now it is time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars and not being able to function, to live a normal life without male guardians.”

The king did not address the issue of women being allowed to drive. Although there is no written law against women driving, they are not issued licenses, effectively banning the practice.

Women in Saudi Arabia must also have written approval from a male guardian – a father, husband, brother or son – to leave the country, work or even undergo certain medical operations.

Those changes will come after municipal elections this Thursday, for which women have been barred from voting or standing office.

After entering the Shura Council chamber leaning heavily on a cane, King Abdullah, who is thought to be 87 or 88, read only a section of a longer prepared statement that was later released in full by the authorities.

The part he did not read included reference to Saudi foreign policy including the kingdom’s continued support for a Gulf-brokered plan for a power transition in Yemen.

King Abdullah has long been pushing cautious political reforms, but in a country where conservative clerics and senior members of the ruling family oppose even minor changes, liberalization has been very gradual.

He built a new university for students of both sexes and encouraged women to participate more in the labor market.

A campaign this summer by women who broke Saudi law by driving on the kingdom’s city streets prompted some arrests.

Saudi Arabia will hold only its second nationwide elections in recent memory on Thursday for seats on municipal councils, but critics of the ruling al-Saud family say the poll, in which voting is limited to men, is a charade.

Supporters of the absolute monarchy say the elections are designed to give Saudis a greater say in politics, but critics point out that the elections are for only half the seats on councils that have few powers.

The Shura Council, which vets legislation but cannot veto it or enforce changes, is fully appointed by the king.

“Despite the issue of the effectiveness of these councils, women’s involvement in them was necessary. Maybe after women join there will be other changes,” said Naila Attar, who organized a campaign Baladi (Arabic for My Country) calling for women’s involvement in the municipal council elections, according to Reuters.

“I believe this is a step to involve women in the public sphere. It is the top of the pyramid and a step in the direction for more decisions regarding women.”

UARS RE-ENTRY

2011-09-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

RE-ENTRY ALERT: NASA's UARS satellite is making its final orbits around Earth, tumbling and flashing brightly as it descends toward a Sept. 23rd re-entry. Amateur astronomer Jim Saueressig II caught the bus-sized satellite flying over Burlington, Kansas, on Sept. 20th (image). "It was easily visible in spite of the moonlight and the twilight of the sunrise. The tumble and associated flares were very apparent," he says.

Satellite tracking expert Ted Molczan has used USSTRATCOM's orbital elements of UARS to predict a decay time "late on Sep 23, roughly between 18:00 and 22:00 UTC." Click on the map to view ground tracks corresponding to this interval:

There is still potential for the estimated time of decay to shift somewhat before it begins to narrow down," cautions Molczan.

The disintegration of UARS is expected to produce a fireball that could be visible even in broad daylight. Not all of the spacecraft will burn up in the atmosphere, however; according to a NASA risk assessment, as many as 26 potentially hazardous pieces of debris could be scattered along a ground track some 500 miles long. The same report puts the odds of a human casualty at 1 in 3200.

For last-chance sightings of this brightly flashing satellite, please check the Simple Satellite Tracker or download the Satellite Flybys app for your smartphone.

GLOBAL WARMING

2011-08-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

Animals and plants across the world are fleeing global warming by heading north much faster than they were less than a decade ago, a new study says.About 2,000 species examined are moving away from the equator at an average rate of more than 15 feet per day, about a mile per year, according to new research published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Science that analyzed previous studies. Species are also moving up mountains to escape the heat, but more slowly, averaging about 4 feet a year. The species — mostly from the Northern Hemisphere due to the available data — moved in fits and starts, but over several decades it averages to about 8 inches an hour away from the equator."The speed is an important issue," said study main author Chris Thomas of the University of York. "It is faster than we thought."
The study "indicates that many species may indeed be heading rapidly towards extinction, where climatic conditions are deteriorating," he said. "On the other hand, other species are moving to new areas where the climate has become suitable; so there will be some winners as well as many losers."The authors said the study is also the first showing that species have moved farthest in regions where the climate has warmed the most.Included in the analysis was a 2003 study that found species moving north at a rate of just more than a third of a mile per year and up at a rate of 2 feet a year. Camille Parmesan of the University of Texas, who conducted that study, said the new research makes sense because her data ended around the late 1990s and the 2000s were far hotter.Federal weather data show the last decade was the hottest on record, and 2010 tied with 2005 for the hottest year on record. Gases from the burning of fossil fuel, especially carbon dioxide, are trapping heat in the atmosphere, warming the Earth and changing the climate in several ways, according to the overwhelming majority of scientists and the world's top scientific organizations.
Jim Asher / Butterfly Conservation via AP
The Comma butterfly has seen its population in Britain move north 135 miles in just 21 years.
As the temperatures soared in the 2000s, the species studied moved faster to cooler places, Parmesan said. She pointed specifically to the city copper butterfly in Europe and the purple emperor butterfly in Sweden. The comma butterfly in Great Britain has moved more than 135 miles in 21 years, Thomas said.One of the faster moving species is the British spider silometopus, Thomas said. In 25 years, the small spider has moved its home range more than 200 miles north, averaging 8 miles a year, he said.
Stanford University biologist Terry Root, who wasn't part of this study but praised it as clever and conservative, points to another species, the American pika, a rabbitlike creature that has been studied in Yellowstone National Park for more than a century. The pika didn't go higher than 7,800 feet in 1900, but in 2004 they were seen at 9,500 feet, she said.For Thomas, this is something he notices every time he returns to his childhood home in southern England. The 51-year-old biologist didn't see the egret, a rather warm climate bird, in the Cuckmere Valley while growing up. But now, he said, "All the ditches have little egrets. It was just a bizarre sight."Thomas plotted the movement of the species and compared it to how much they would move based on temperature changes. It was a near perfect match, showing that temperature changes explain what's happening to the critters and plants, Thomas said. The match wasn't quite as exact with the movement up mountains and Thomas thinks that's because species went north instead or they were blocked from going up.Thomas found that the farther north the species live, the faster they moved their home base. That makes sense because in general northern regions are warming more than those closer to the equator.Conservation biologist Mike Dombeck, a former U.S. Forest Service chief, said changes in where species live — especially movements up mountains — is a problem for many threatened species.A key finding, Thomas said, was the "huge diversity of responses" observed in different plants and different locations.
"Because each species is affected by different things ... when the climate changes, they will have different availabilities of new habitat that they might be able to move into," he said.
Not every animal or plant shifts to a cooler place when its habitat heats up, because of pressure from other factors like rainfall, human development and habitat loss. For example, a British butterfly, the high brown fritillary butterfly, might have been expected to move northward if the only factor affecting it was climate warming. Instead, the species declined because its habitats were lost, the researchers reported. But the comma butterfly was able to make the leap from central England to Edinburgh, a distance of about 137 miles, in two decades.
In Borneo, moths shifted 220 feet upward on Mount Kinabalu, the study found. This area has been protected for more than 40 years, so habitat destruction was not a factor in the move, Thomas said. Because of different species diverse reactions, he said, "it's very hard to predict what an individual species is going to do ... and that means that if you want to manage the world in some way, save species or whatever, unfortunately it looks as though a lot of detailed information is going to be required ... in order to take practical action."Thomas said what he's studied isn't about some far off problem. It's already affected the entire planet's wildlife," Thomas said. "It's not a matter that might happen in the lifetime of our children and our grandchildren. If you look in your garden you can see the effects of climate change already."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE WHITE MAN

2011-08-20T18:38:00.000-07:00

"This is the First Sign: We are told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana men who took the land that was not theirs. And men who struck their enemies with thunder.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE WAGONS WILL COME

2011-08-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

"This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. In his youth, my father saw this prophecy come true with his eyes -- the white men bringing their families in wagons across the prairies."

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE LONG HORN BEAST

2011-08-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

"This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. These White Feather saw with his eyes -- the coming of the white men's cattle."

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, IRON SNAKES

2011-08-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

"This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron."

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, SPIDERWEB

2011-08-20T18:29:00.000-07:00

"This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web." Electricity..? World Wide Web..?

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, RIVERS OF STONE

2011-08-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

"This is the Sixth sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun."

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, ANIMALS WILL DIE

2011-08-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

"This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it."

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, LONG HAIR YOUTH

2011-08-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

"This is the Eight Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like my people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn their ways and wisdom.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE BLUE STAR

2011-08-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

"And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star.
The Ninth Sign was the U.S. Space Station Skylab, which fell to Earth in 1979. According to Australian eye-witnesses, it appeared to be burning blue.

Very soon after this, the ceremonies of my people will cease.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, GLOBAL TURMOIL

2011-08-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

"These are the Signs that great destruction is coming. The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle against other people in other lands -- with those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as White Feather has seen the white man make in the deserts not far from here. Only those which come will cause disease and a great dying. Many of my people, understanding the prophecies, shall be safe. Those who stay and live in the places of my people also shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon -- very soon afterward -- Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in their hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, MOON ROCKS

2011-08-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

Another Hopi prophecy warns that nothing should be brought back from the Moon -- obviously anticipating the Apollo 11 mission that returned with samples of lunar basalt. It this was done, the Hopi warned, the balance of natural and universal laws and forces would be disturbed, resulting in earthquakes, severe changes in weather patterns, and social unrest. All these things are happening today, though of course not necessarily because of Moon rocks.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE HOUSE OF GLASS

2011-08-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

In 1959, a six-man delegation of traditional Hopi leaders led by the late spiritual leader, Dan Katchongva, traveled to the United Nations Building in New York to fulfill a sacred mission in accordance with ancient Hopi instructions. Because of their prophetic knowledge, the Hopi leaders felt it was time to go east to the edge of their motherland, where "a house of mica" [The United Nations building] would stand at this time, where Great Leaders from many lands would be gathered to help any people who are in trouble." According to prophecy, at least one, two or three leaders or nations would hear and understand the Hopi warnings, as "It is told that they too should know these ancient instructions". Upon hearing the message of the Hopi, they would act immediately to correct many wrongs being done to the chosen race -- the Red Man who was granted permission to hold in trust all land and life for the Great Spirit. This prophecy would seem to have failed. Hopi prophecy also declares that the doors of the "Glass House" would be closed to them. This was the case at first, though the

have delivered their message to the United Nations Assembly since then.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, SHIP WITHOUT WINGS

2011-08-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

On August 7, 1970, a spectacular UFO sighting was witnessed by dozens of people and photographed by Chuck Roberts of the Prescott (Arizona)"Courier". This sighting occurred after a "UFO calling" by Paul Solem and several Hopi Indians. This sighting was interpreted by some Hopis as being a partial fulfillment of a certain Hopi prophecy given by the Great Spirit Maasau and inscribed on Second Mesa, warning of the coming of Purification Day, when the true Hopi will be flown to other planets in "ships without wings."

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE BIG INDIAN MIGRATION

2011-08-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Hopi prophecy also tells us that there will be a mass migration of Indians northward from Mexico and Central and South America. The migration will be led by a 130-year old Indian named Etchata Etchana. The movement will come after the huge fire and explosion that will herald the advent of the True White Brother.

According to Hopi belief, the survivors of the Great Deluge thousands of years ago split up into four groups that moved north, south, east and west. Only one group completed their journey -- to the North Pole and back -- under the guidance of a brilliant "star" in which the Great Spirit Maasau traveled. When he landed, he drew a petroglyph on Second Mesa, showing a maiden (with the traditional "butterfly" hair arrangement) riding in a wingless, dome-shaped craft. The petroglyph signified the coming Day of Purification when the true Hopi will fly to other planets in "ships without wings."

The prophecy also warns that there will be three divisions among the Hopi The first division was in 1906 between the Traditionalists and the Modernists. The Traditionalists were forced to leave Oraibi and move to Hotevilla. The second division took place in the wake of the spectacular appearance of UFOs in August, 1970.

THE HOPI PROPHECIES, THE PROPHECY ROCK

2011-08-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

Near Oraibi, Arizona, there is a petroglyph known as Prophecy Rock which symbolizes many Hopi prophecies. Its interpretation is:

The large human figure on the left is the Great Spirit. The bow in his left hand represents his instructions to the Hopi to lay down their weapons. The vertical line to the right of the Great Spirit is a time scale in thousands of years. The point at which the great Spirit touches the line is the time of his return.

The "life path" established by the Great Spirit divides into the lower, narrow path of continuous Life in harmony with nature and the wide upper road of white man's scientific achievements. The bar between the paths, above the cross, is the coming of white men; the Cross is that of Christianity. The circle below the cross represents the continuous Path of Life.

The four small human figures on the upper road represent, on one level, the past three worlds and the present; on another level, the figures indicate that some of the Hopi will travel the white man's path, having been seduced by its glamour.

The two circles on the lower Path of Life are the "great shaking of the earth" (World Wars One and Two). The swastika in the sun and the Celtic cross represent the two helpers of Pahana, the True White Brother.

The short line that returns to the straight Path of Life is the last chance for people to turn back to nature before the upper road disintegrates and dissipates. The small circle above the Path of Life, after the last chance, is the Great Purification, after which corn will grow in abundance again when the Great Spirit returns. And the Path of Life continues forever...

The Hopi shield in the lower right corner symbolizes the Earth and the Four-Corners area where the Hopi have been reserved. The arms of the cross also represent the four directions in which they migrated according to the instructions of the Great Spirit.

The dots represent the four colors of Hopi corn, and the four racial colors of humanity.

SNOW IN ATACAMA DESERT

2011-08-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

Images taken by the satellite. The first shows the region from a natural perspective,

T he second shot uses infrared light techniques to distinguish between the snow, shown in dark red, and clouds, seen as lighter shades of orange and white.

Extreme weather is in the air.

The following satellite photo shows South America's Atacama Desert region -- known as one of the driest places on Earth -- covered in 32 inches of snowfall.

NASA’s Terra satellite collected images of the rare winter storm, which began on July 3 and lasted several days.

According to TreeHugger, the snowfall is the largest to hit the region in roughly 50 years and, not surprisingly, locals aren't exactly accustomed to bundling up for flurries. NASA reports that the average precipitation for the area is one to three millimeters per year.

Below we have two

THIS IS THE LAST POPE

2011-08-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

Prior to the papal conclave, this motto led to speculation that the next pontiff would be from the Order of Saint Benedict, whose symbols include the olive branch.

Petrus RomanusOminously, the longest and final motto reads:"During the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church, the seat will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed his sheep in many tribulations; and when these things are finished, the seven-hilled city will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people.The End."

SAINT MALACHY 2012

2011-08-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

St Malachy or Máel Máedóc Ua Morgair

(Modern Irish: Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair; 1094 - November 2, 1148)

was the Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and a vision of the identity of the last 112 Popes. He was Canonized by Pope Clement III, on July 6, 1199, the first Irish Saint to be Canonized.The Prophecy of the Popes, attributed to Saint Malachy, is a list of 112 short phrases in Latin. They purport to describe each of the Roman Catholic popes (along with a few anti-popes), beginning with Pope Celestine II (elected in 1143) and concluding with a later added pope described in the prophecy as "Peter the Roman", whose pontificate will end in the destruction of the city of Rome.Some sources, including the most recent editions of the Catholic Encyclopedia, suggest that the prophecy is a late 16th‑century forgery. Some have suggested that it was created by Nostradamus and was credited to Saint Malachy so the purported seer would not be blamed for the destruction of the papacy.Separate doubts are raised about the last entry, describing Petrus Romanus. Some claim that this was first recorded sometime after 1820 and so is often considered not to be part of the original prophecy. If this is true then we are currently on the last Pope. Here are the last few prophecies.

THE HOPI

2011-08-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hopi Prophecy 2012

"I am White Feather, a Hopi of the ancient Bear Clan.

In my long life I have traveled through this land, seeking out my brothers, and learning from them many things full of wisdom. I have followed the sacred paths of my people, who inhabit the forests and many lakes in the east, the land of ice and long nights in the north, and the places of holy altars of stone built many years ago by my brothers' fathers in the south. From all these I have heard the stories of the past, and the prophecies of the future. Today, many of the prophecies have turned to stories, and few are left -- the past grows longer, and the future grows shorter."And now White Feather is dying. His sons have all joined his ancestors, and soon he too shall be with them. But there is no one left, no one to recite and pass on the ancient wisdom. My people have tired of the old ways -- the great ceremonies that tell of our origins, of our emergence into the Fourth World, are almost all abandoned, forgotten, yet even this has been foretold. The time grows short.
"My people await Pahana, the lost White Brother, [from the stars] as do all our brothers in the land. He will not be like the white men we know now, who are cruel and greedy. we were told of their coming long ago. But still we await Pahana."He will bring with him the symbols, and the missing piece of that sacred tablet now kept by the elders, given to him when he left, that shall identify him as our True White Brother."The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.

This is the First Sign: We are told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana men who took the land that was not theirs. And men who struck their enemies with thunder.

This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. In his youth, my father saw this prophecy come true with his eyes -- the white men bringing their families in wagons across the prairies."

This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron."

This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web."

This is the Sixth sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun."

This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it."

This is the Eight Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like my people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn their ways and wisdom.

And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of my people will cease.

Mir space station breaking up in Earth's atmosphere over the South Pacific on March 23, 2001

Mir was the world's first consistently inhabited long-term research station in space

These are the Signs that great destruction is coming. The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle against other people in other lands -- with those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as White Feather has seen the white man make in the deserts not far from here. Only those which come will cause disease and a great dying. Many of my people, understanding the prophecies, shall be safe. Those who stay and live in the places of my people also shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon -- very soon afterward -- Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in their hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World.

"But White Feather shall not see it. I am old and dying.

You -- perhaps will see it. In time, in time..."

THE MAYAN CALENDAR 2012

2011-08-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

Pictured is the only known Mayan inscription eluding to what will happen in 2012. The ironic part about this inscription, further fueling the 2012 debate, is that the inscription is partially unreadable. The inscription was recently found in Chiapas, Mexico.
Here is what we can decipher from the inscription:

"The thirteenth pik will be finished (on) Four Ahaw, the third of K'ank'in. ? will occur. (It will be) the descent(?) of the Nine Foot Tree God to (?)."

2012 and the Mayan Long Count Calendar

According to the Popol Vuh, a book compiling details of creation accounts known to the K'iche' Maya of the Colonial-era highlands, we are living in the fourth world. The Popol Vuh describes the first three creations that the gods failed in making and the creation of the successful fourth world where men were placed. In the Maya Long Count, the previous creation ended at the start of a 13th b'ak'tun.

The previous creation ended on a long count of 12.19.19.17.19. Another 12.19.19.17.19 will occur on December 20, 2012, followed by the start of the fourteenth b'ak'tun, 13.0.0.0.0, on December 21, 2012.

Significance within the New Age movement

Three figures within the New Age, the artist and theorist José Argüelles, John Major Jenkins, and the late ethnobotanist and psychonaut Terence McKenna, have publicized theories concerning the significance of the end of the cycle. (They arrived at their conclusions separately from one another). They have jointly inspired a number of articles and books that this will be the end of this creation, the next pole shift or, as McKenna speculated in his theories, the end of history and events as "novel" as the origin of life on Earth, which we could not possibly imagine. Jenkins has focused on the occurance of a Galactic Alignment in the "era of 2012". Other, more mundane speculations involve a worldwide catastrophe, such as a pole shift. The idea of the significance of the date has also increasingly passed into popular culture.

WINTER IN RUSSIA

2011-02-17T19:04:00.000-08:00

In this photo made Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011,

fish cluster at an ice hole, covered with thin pieces of ice, struggling for air in a pond in a park in St. Petersburg, Russia.

As the long Russian winter drags on, fish in the ponds of St. Petersburg become increasingly desperate for oxygen, clustering in vast, thrashing masses at shrinking holes in the ice.

Not only does ice block oxygen that could be diffused into the water from the air, but it also impedes sunlight from reaching oxygen-generating plants and algae in the water.

"The only way to help the fish in this situation is to make more holes in the ice," says Sergei Titov of St. Petersburg's Lakes and Rivers Fish Sector Institute.

(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

NEW PLANETS FOR HUMANS?

2011-02-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

By Seth Borenstein
The Associated Press
updated 2/2/2011 1:40:39 PM ET 2011-02-02T18:40:39

WASHINGTON — An orbiting NASA telescope is finding whole new worlds of possibilities in the search for alien life, spotting more than 50 potential planets that appear to be in the habitable zone.

In just a year of peering out at a small slice of the galaxy, the Kepler telescope has discovered 1,235 possible planets outside our solar system. Amazingly, 54 of them are seemingly in the zone that could be hospitable to life — that is, not too hot or too cold, Kepler chief scientist William Borucki said.

Until now, only two planets outside our solar system were even thought to be in the "Goldilocks zone." And both those discoveries are highly disputed.

Fifty-four possibilities is "an enormous amount, an inconceivable amount," Borucki said. "It's amazing to see this huge number because up to now, we've had zero."

The more than 1,200 newfound celestial bodies are not confirmed as planets yet, but Borucki estimates 80 percent of them will eventually be verified. Some think the figure may be even higher.

After confirmation, it's another big step to prove that a confirmed planet has some of the basic conditions needed to support life, such as the proper size, composition, temperature and distance from its star. More advanced aspects of habitability such as atmospheric conditions and the presence of water and carbon require telescopes that aren't built yet.

Just because a planet is in the habitable zone doesn't mean it has life. Mars is a good example of that. And even if some these planets are found to contain life, it may not be intelligent life; it could be bacteria or mold or some kind of life form people can't even imagine.

Advertise AdChoicesAdvertise AdChoicesAdvertise AdChoices.
All the celestial bodies Kepler looks at are in our Milky Way galaxy, but they are so far away that traveling there is not a realistic option. In some cases it would take many millions of years with current technology.

But what Kepler is finding in distant parts of the galaxy could be applied to exploring closer stars, astronomers say. And there's always the chance that scientists could pick up the signatures of life in alien atmospheres using more sophisticated instruments, or even find innovative ways to make contact with faraway civilizations.

"Our grandchildren will have to decide what's the next step," Borucki said at a NASA news conference. "Do they want to go there? Do they want to send a robot?"

Worlds galore
Before Wednesday, the count of confirmed planets outside the solar system stood at 519. That means Kepler could triple the number. Those findings are from Kepler's scanning of just one-four-hundredth of the night sky, so the actual number of planets out there is presumably hundreds of times greater, Borucki said.

That is exciting to astronomers, since the more planets there are, the greater the odds that life exists elsewhere in the universe.

More space news from MSNBC Tech & Science Jerusalem videos stir UFO buzz
Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Videos purporting to show flashing lights over Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock have sparked a fresh UFO debate.

Get a sense of scale for planets
Discovery rolls out for its last launch ... again
British island is named a skywatching paradise
..Yale University astronomer Debra Fischer, who wasn't part of the Kepler team but serves as an outside expert for NASA, said the new information "gives us a much firmer footing" to hope for worlds that could harbor life.

Another outside astronomer, Lisa Kaltenegger of Harvard University, called the findings "exciting good news."

Kepler also found that there are many more relatively small planets than there are giant planets. That is encouraging, too: Astronomers think a planet needs to be solid — rocky like Earth or Mars — for life to develop. And very large planets are unlikely to be solid; they are more prone to be gas behemoths like Jupiter.

Sixty-eight of the planet candidates Kepler found are considered Earth-sized, including the first ones ever discovered to be smaller than Earth. An additional 288 planets were less than twice the size of Earth, which is still in that optimum zone for life.

Only five of the 54 potentially habitable celestial bodies are close to the size of Earth, while the rest approach the gassy girths of Neptune or Jupiter, Borucki said. Such gas giants shouldn't necessarily be ruled out as locales for life: It's possible that moons orbiting those planets could be habitable — like Pandora, the fictional moon of Prometheus in the movie "Avatar." Borucki even speculated that an alien civilization would welcome the variety.

"For your Christmas vacation you could go from one moon to another," he joked.

Real-estate values going up
To be in the habitable zone, a planet has to be the proper distance from its star so that it could have liquid water on its surface, at least sometimes. The proper distance varies by star; smaller, weaker stars, for example, would require planets to be closer to be habitable.

Advertise AdChoicesAdvertise AdChoicesAdvertise AdChoices.
Because of the various factors that could make planets more prone to life, University of California Santa Cruz astronomer Greg Laughlin created a formula that puts a dollar value on these far-off planets, with the idea that the first planet that is incredibly similar to Earth would have a value of $1 million.

Until Wednesday, the highest value Laughlin assigned to an exoplanet, which is what astronomers call a planet outside our solar system, was a measly $158. One of Kepler's new discoveries is worth nearly a quarter-million dollars, Laughlin figures.

Kepler was launched in 2009 and orbits the sun between Earth and Mars. It needs time to find planets, identifying them by watching them repeatedly move past the star they orbit.

Kepler scientists are strict about calling candidate planets confirmed. Out of the hundreds of candidate planets announced last year, only 15 of Kepler's discoveries had been confirmed — including six that were announced Wednesday. All of those six are way too hot for life.

CAIRO, EGYPT

2011-01-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Riot police force protesters back across the Kasr al-Nile Bridge as they attempt to get into Tahrir Square on Friday.

NEEDS OUR HELP

2011-01-17T22:36:00.001-08:00

WEIRD FACTS ABOUT HUMANS

2010-12-27T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Brain
Complex and poorly understood, the brain is what makes everything work properly. The body may be kept alive, but without the brain, a person can’t truly live. Here are some interesting and weird facts about the brain.
The brain doesn’t feel pain: Even though the brain processes pain signals, the brain itself does not actually feel pain.
Your brain has huge oxygen needs: Your brain requires 20 percent of the oxygen and calories your body needs — even though your brain only makes up two percent of your total body weight.
80% of the brain is water: Instead of being relatively solid, your brain 80% water. This means that it is important that you remain properlyhydrated for the sake of your mind.
Your brain comes out to play at night: You’d think that your brain is more active during the day, when the rest of your body is. But it’s not. Your brain is more activewhen you sleep.
Your brain operates on 10 watts of power: It’s true: The amazing computational power of your brain only requires about 10 watts of power to operate.
A higher I.Q. equals more dreams: The smarter you are, the more you dream. A high I.Q. can alsofight mental illness. Some people even believe they are smarter in their dreams than when they are awake.
The brain changes shapes during puberty: Your teenage years do more than just change how you feel; the very structure of your brain changes during the teen years, and it even affects impulsive, risky behavior.
Your brain can store everything: Technically, your brain has the capacity to store everything you experience, see, read or hear. However, the real issue is recall — whether you can access that information.
Information in your brain travels at different speeds: The neurons in your brain are built differently, and information travels along them at different speeds. This is why sometimes you can recall information instantly, and sometimes it takes a little longer.

Your Senses
You might be surprised at the amazing things your various senses can accomplish.
Your smell is unique: Your body odor is unique to you — unless you have an identical twin. Even babies recognize the individual scents of their mothers.
Humans use echolocation: Humans can use sound to sense objects in their area using echolocation. It is thought that those who are blinddevelop this ability to heightened effectiveness.
Adrenaline gives you super strength: Yes, with the proper response in certain situations, you really can lift a car.
Women smell better than men: Women are better than men atidentifying smells.
Your nose remembers 50,000 scents: It is possible for your nose to identify and remember more than 50,000 smells.
Your hearing decreases when you overeat: When you eat too much food, it actually reduces your ability to hear. So consider eating healthy — and only until you are full.
Your sense of time is in your head: How you experience time is all about your perception. Some speculate that stress can help you experience time dilation. Apparently, time manipulation isn’t just for superheroes.
Reproduction
How we as a species reproduce offers all sorts of interesting weird facts. Here are some of the weirder things you might not know.
Your teeth are growing before birth: Even though it takes months after you are born to see teeth, they start growing about six months before you are born.
Babies are stronger than oxen: On a pound for pound basis, that is. For their size, babies are quite powerful and strong.
Babies always have blue eyes when they are born: Melanin and exposure to ultraviolet light are needed to bring out the true color of babies’ eyes. Until then they all have blue eyes.
Women might be intrinsically bi: There are sex studies that indicate that women might bisexual intrinsically, no matter how they class themselves, while men are usually either gay or straight.
Most men have regular erections while asleep: Every hour to hour and a half, sleeping men have erections — though they may not be aware of it.
Sex can be a pain reliever: Even though the “headache” excuse is often used to avoid sex, the truth is that intercourse can provide pain relief. Sex can also help you reduce stress.
Chocolate is better than sex: In some studies, women claim they would rather have chocolate than sex. But does it really cause orgasm? Probably not on its own.

Body Functions
The things our bodies do are often strange and sometimes gross. Here are some weird facts about the way your body functions.
Earwax is necessary: If you want healthy ears, you need some earwax in there.
Your feet can produce a pint of sweat a day: There are 500,000 (250,000 for each) sweat glands in your feet, and that can mean a great deal of stinky sweat.
Throughout your life, the amount of saliva you have could fill two swimming pools: Since saliva is a vital part of digestion, it is little surprise that your mouth makes so much of it.
A full bladder is about the size of a soft ball: When your bladder is full, holding up to 800 cc of fluid, it is large enough to be noticeable.
You probably pass gas 14 times a day: On average, you will expel flatulence several times as part of digestion.
A sneeze can exceed 100 mph: When a sneeze leaves your body, it does so at high speeds — so you should avoid suppressing it and causing damage to your body.
Coughs leave at 60 mph: A cough is much less dangerous, leaving the body at 60 mph. That’s still highway speed, though.

Musculoskeletal System
Find out what you didn’t know about your muscles and bones.
Bones can self-destruct: It is possible for your bones to destruct without enough calcium intake.
You are taller in the morning: Throughout the day, the cartilagebetween your bones is compressed, making you about 1 cm shorter by day’s end.
1/4 of your bones are in your feet: There are 26 bones in each foot, meaning that the 52 bones in account for 25 percent of your body’s 206 bones.
It takes more muscles to frown than to smile: Scientists can’t agree on the exact number, but more muscles are required to frown than to smile.
When you take a step, you are using up to 200 muscles: Walking uses a great deal of musclepower — especially if you take your 10,000 steps.
Your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body: Compared to its size, the tongue is thestrongest muscle. But I doubt you’ll be lifting weights with it.
Bone can be stronger than steel: Once again, this is a pound for pound comparison, since steel is denser and has a higher tensile strength.

Unnecessary Body Parts
We have a number of body parts that are, well, useless. Here are some facts about the body parts we don’t actually need.
Coccyx: This collection of fused vertebrae have no purpose these days, although scientists believe it’s what’s left of the mammal tail humans used to have. It may be useless, but when you break your coccyx, it’s still painful.
Pinkie toe: There is speculation that since we no longer have to run for our dinner, and we wear sneakers, the pinkie toe’s evolutionary purpose is disappearing — and maybe the pinkie itself will go the way of the dodo.
Wisdom teeth: This third set of molars is largely useless, doing little beyond crowding the mouth and sometimes causing pain.
Vomeronasal organ: There are tiny (and useless) chemoreceptors lining the inside of the nose.
Most body hair: While facial hair serves some purposes, the hair found on the rest of body is practically useless and can be removed with few ill effects.
Female vas deferens: A cluster of dead end tubules near the ovaries are the remains of what could have turned into sperm ducts.
Male Uterus: Yeah, men have one too — sort of. The remains of this undeveloped female reproductive organ hangs on one side of the male prostate gland
Appendix: Yep, your appendix is basically useless. While it does produce some white blood cells, most people are fine with an appendectomy.

Random Weird Body Facts
Here are a few final weird facts about the human body.
Your head creates inner noises: It’s rare, but exploding head syndromeexists.
Memory is affected by body position: Where you are and how you are placed in your environment triggers memory.
You can’t tickle yourself: Go ahead. Try to tickle yourself.
Being right-handed can prolong your life: If you’re right-handed, you could live up to nine years longer than a lefty.
Only humans shed emotional tears: Every other animal that producestears has a physiological reason for doing so.

CARIBOU TRACKS

2010-11-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

Caribou Tracks deeply etched on coal seams from centuries of migrations, Utukok River Uplands. Photo by Subhankar Banerjee, 2006.

CONFUSED PELICANS

2010-11-21T23:44:00.001-08:00

Russia's been having a record breaking autumn weather-wise, with temperatures in Altai, in southwestern Siberia, remaining as high as 41° Fahrenheit. And it looks like the balmy weather has attracted some new residents: on Tuesday, a flock of seven African pink pelicans landed in the village of Suslovo, reported Reuters. The birds, which had spend the summer in Kazakhstan, should have been flying south to winter in Africa. But that's where global warming stepped in. Confused by the unnaturally high temperatures to the north, the pelicans, all barely a year old, flew in the wrong direction.

WARMING OF THE OCEANS

2010-11-21T23:32:00.000-08:00

Raised ocean temperatures result in severe damage to reefs in the Caribbean.
The year 2005 was devastating for coral, with unusually warm waters in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea causing one of the worst bleaching events on record. Researchers who monitored the event have now catalogued the full extent of the disaster — and they warn that 2010 is shaping up to be even worse.
Mark Eakin, coordinator of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch programme based in Silver Springs, Maryland, and his colleagues performed an extensive coral survey to record the effects of unseasonally high temperatures on reefs in 2005. The project involved more than 250 collaborators from 22 countries, and compared satellite data with field surveys to determine how heat stress affected the coral in different places.

SUBASTAN COSAS DE LOS NARCOS

2010-11-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

MEXICO - El Servicio de Administración y Enajenación de Bienes, (SAE) dio a conocer los pormenores de la "Gran Subasta Pública SAE 2010" que se llevará a cabo el próximo 18 y 19 de noviembre, en al Ciudad de México.

SAE ofrecerá en la subasta el mayor lote de joyas y automóviles decomisados al narcotráfico, servidores públicos y ciudadanía en general que no hayan cumplido con los reglamentos internos de la Ley de Funcionarios Públicos.

Esperan recopilar unos 80 millones de pesos mexicanos.>>>

Más sobre el narco mexicano en Noticias de MéxicoEntre la mercancía de los 181 lotes que se preparan para ser subastados, hay disponibles autos, aviones y jets exclusivos.Sergio Hidalgo Monroy, director del SAE, explicó: "Es algo que no habíamos vendido antes, así que sentimos que hay lógicamente empresarios y miembros del público a los que les pueden interesar estos lotes". La convocatoria de la Gran Subasta 2010 está abierta al publico general.

El costo de las bases es de US$41 y los datos personales quedan bajo estricta confidencialidad. "Hay que perder simplemente el miedo", afirmó el director del SAE.

LA REALIDAD

2010-11-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

Pekín.- La policía tailandesa anunció el hallazgo de otros mil 800 fetos humanos, producto de abortos ilegales, en un templo budista de Bangkok, con lo que el número de embriones encontrados en ese lugar supera los dos mil.

Los fetos fueron localizados durante la noche cuando la policía efectuó una nueva búsqueda en el templo de Wat Phai Ngern, luego que un empleado del lugar que fue arrestado confesó que había muchos más fetos que los 350 hallados el pasado miércoles.

Los restos se encontraban en la morgue del templo, en bolsas de plástico colocadas en contenedores que son utilizados para guardar cuerpos que serán incinerados, de acuerdo con reportes del diario tailandés Bangkok Post.

La policía fue alertada el pasado miércoles sobre un olor putrefacto en el templo y cuando acudió al lugar descubrió en una habitación alrededor de 350 fetos en estado de descomposición, por lo que arrestó a dos empleados.

Los detenidos -un hombre y una mujer- reconocieron que recibían dinero por colectar fetos de clínicas ilegales de aborto y deshacerse de ellos con el horno de cremación, pero que éste se había descompuesto hacía varios días.

La policía indicó que los dos trabajadores del templo, quienes dijeron obtener 16 dólares por cada feto, fueron acusados de ocultar cadáveres.

El aborto es ilegal en Tailandia, a menos que el embarazo sea resultado de una violación o de incesto, o bien cuando la salud de la madre está en riesgo. Sin embargo existen unas cuatro mil clínicas en Bangkok sospechosas de realizarlos.

EL PLANETA QUE VINO DE OTRA GALAXIA

2010-11-20T12:20:00.000-08:00

Un grupo de astrónomos europeos descubrió a través del telescopio MPG/ESO un exoplaneta muy especial; nació y se formó fuera de la Vía Láctea y luego fue devorado, junto a su estrella, por la enorme gravedad de nuestra galaxia.
El planeta, conocido como HIP 1344b se encuentra a unos dos mil años luz de la Tierra en la constelación austral de Fornax (el Horno) y es 1.25 veces la masa de Júpiter, detalla el descubrimiento publicado en la revista Science.
Según los resultados de la investigación, es una estrella compuesta casi exclusivamente por hidrógeno y helio, sin apenas metales, que son la materia prima a partir de la que los sistemas estelares alumbran planetas.
Los investigadores, dirigidos por Jonny Setiawan, del Instituto Max Plank de Alemania, consideran que este nuevo planeta podría cuestionar el conocimiento actual de sobre la formación y supervivencia planetaria, dado que es la primera vez que se descubre un planeta alrededor de una estrella extremadamente pobre en metal.
"Este descubrimiento es muy emocionante", dijo en un comunicado Reiner Klement, del Instituto de Astronomía Max Planck, de Alemania.
Más noticias de Ciencia y Tecnología"Por primera vez, los astrónomos detectaron un sistema planetario en un conjunto estelar de origen extragaláctico.
Debido a las grandes distancias implicadas, no hay una detección confirmada de planetas en otras galaxias, pero esta fusión cósmica trajo un planeta extragaláctico a nuestro alcance", agregó..
El planeta fue descubierto gracias a las observaciones realizadas en el telescopio de 2,2 metros de diámetro que el Observatorio Austral Europeo (ESO) tiene en La Silla (Chile).
Para las observaciones, los astrónomos utilizaron un espectógrafo capaz de detectar las pequeñas variaciones gravitacionales que se producen en las estrellas cuando son orbitadas por algún astro.
El nuevo planeta gira alrededor de una estrella procedente de lo que se conoce como la corriente Helmi, un conjunto de estrellas que originalmente perteneció a una galaxia enana a la que devoró la Vía Láctea hace entre 6,000 y 9,000 millones de años.
Los investigadores aseguran que el astro también es uno de los pocos planetas conocidos que han sobrevivido al periodo de expansión de gran escala de la estrella a la que pertenecen después de que a ésta se le agotara su combustible de hidrógeno en el núcleo.
La estrella se contrajo de nuevo, según los expertos.Johny Setiawan, también del Instituto Max Planck, agregó que "este descubrimiento es en particular intrigante cuando consideramos el futuro distante de nuestro propio sistema planetario, ante las previsiones de que el Sol también se convertirá en una gigante roja en unos 5.000 millones de años".
En internet: http://www.sciencemag.org

ANNUNAKI

2010-11-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

Flying capsule

Space visitor

ELECTION DAY MARRED BY FRAUD

2010-11-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

Posted By: Kate McConaughy
To: Members in One Million Faces Against the Inhumane Treatment of Activists Imprisoned in Burma
Election Day Marred by Fraud, Intimidation

IRRAWADDY By BA KAUNG
By 10 a.m. On Sunday, a ghostly silence had descended on the polling stations in Rangoon. Local media estimated that voter turnout was low for the first general election in 20 years. Despite having four million eligible voters in the former capital, no queues of more than 100 people were seen at polling stations in the early morning.
But in other cities, such as Pegu, there were reports of as many as 1,000 voters showing up at a time. Even so, the voters who decided to go to the polling stations were faced with fraud and intimidation in different parts of the country, according to major opposition parties.

“The polling station officials themselves ticked the “Lion” symbol of the junta's party on behalf of the voters,” said 32-year-old Khin Maung Than, a candidate for the National Democratic Force (NDF), referring to the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). He was competing for a parliamentary seat in Kyaukse Township in Mandalay Division against the Burmese Minister of Science and Technology U Thaung, a top USDP candidate who is one of the most trusted subordinates of junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe and is believed to be overseeing the alleged nuclear weapons program.
“The voters were threatened with jail sentences if they chose to vote for the NDF,” said Khin Maung Than, adding that the public in Than Shwe's native town were so fearful of these threats that they were believed to be voting for the USDP.
“There is little or no chance of my winning here. But we showed that we dared to compete with them,” he said. The NDF party chairman, Dr. Than Nyein, in Rangoon also said that he has received reports of voters being intimidated into voting for the USDP in at least 10 locations, including Thingangyun, Thaketa and Kayan townships in Rangoon, Thabeikkyin Township in Mandalay and Kamma Township in Magwe Division.

“The polling station officials themselves urged the voters to vote for USDP,” he said. “I have asked our candidates to record those incidents and make complaints.” The Democratic Party (Myanmar), the second-largest pro-democracy party in Rangoon, also complained about lack of proper procedures at polling stations.

“The ballot boxes were neither sealed nor tied with ropes. Half of the 10 polling staff were out for lunch in Pathein Nyunt Ward in Mingalar Tuangnyunt Township in Rangoon. We are extremely disappointed,” said Hla Myint, the spokesman for the Democratic Party (Myanmar). “When we asked the officials for the voter list, we were rebuffed,” he said.

“Things are now in very bad shape.” Thu Wai, the chairman of the Democratic Party (Myanmar), said there is a lack of secrecy in the voting process. “Everyone can see who you are voting for. It is a complete disappointment,” he said. An NDF campaign manager in Burma's second largest city, Mandalay, Dr. Hla Soe Nyunt, said that he had seen a woman, believed to be a USDP member, stuffing four ballots in a single box in Maha Aung Myay Township. Despite these voting irregularities, the NDF was reputed to be the most popular party in Rangoon among voters leaving polling stations.

“I voted for NDF because I hate the USDP,” said one. But one of the party's main candidates in Tavoy Township said that he has already lost hope of a fair result after villagers in the area were forced to vote for the USDP in advance. Meanwhile, ethnic opposition parties said that they were confident of a victory since ethnic minority people would almost certainly select their own ethnic parties.
Several ethnic politicians said they expected to win the vote despite the high number of alleged cases in which USDP members were forcing people to vote for their party.
The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, the All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) were reportedly doing well in their respective ethnic areas. “We are doing very well,” said Sai Aik Pao, the SNDP chairman.

“But it would have been far better if we had not faced such dishonest advance voting for the USDP.” He said he had reported the alleged cases to Election Commission officials, and requested that the voters in question were allowed to recast their votes in secret. At the close of the day's voting, he had still received no response.
Party representatives said they were still hoping for an unbiased and transparent vote count, but were far from positive about whether that would happen in their respective areas.

“Our greatest worry now is about vote-counting,” Than Nyein said. “Polling officials who have clearly been involved in a fraudulent voting process must be suspect in the counting process too.” http://www.mizzima.com/news/world/4550-obama-denounces-burma-polls-calls-to-free-suu-kyi-.html

DESCUBREN GIGANTESCOS GEOGLIFICOS EN PERU

2010-10-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Titicaca: Descubren gigantescos geoglifos que compiten con las líneas de Nazca

viernes, 08 de octubre de 2010

Titicaca: Descubren gigantescos geoglifos que compiten con las líneas de Nazca
Las líneas de Nazca dejarían de ser el único atractivo turístico sudamericano para visitar desde el aire tras el descubrimiento, por parte de la investigadora italiana Amelia Carolina Sparavigna, de una asombrosa red de geoglifos en la zona del Titicaca.
La doctora Sparavigna, investigadora del Departamento de Física del Politécnico de Turín, Italia, explica que localizó a través de imágenes satelitales de Google Earth formas de aves diseñadas en una red de andenes, que fueron muros pétreos incaicos de contención construidos en las pendientes con fines agrícolas y un estudiado sistema de drenaje.

El área en cuestión es de unas 120 mil hectáreas. "En realidad, algunas de las formas de terreno cercanas al lago Titicaca son notabilísimas, tienen un claro significado simbólico y se las puede considerar geoglifos", explicó la investigadora a Con Nuestro PerúSe trata de "un maravilloso ejemplo de forma de terreno resultado de una red verdaderamente gigantesca de terraplenes: esta red cubre un total de 120 000 hectáreas de terreno cercano al lago Titicaca, lo que emerge como fruto de un esfuerzo agrícola casi inimaginable de las antiguas poblaciones de los Andes", indica.

Imágenes satelitales
"Los restos de campos prehistóricos de cultivo elevados proporcionan, entonces, indicios de impresionantes capacidades de ingeniería de los pueblos que vivieron allí en tiempos prehispánicos", señaló la Dra Sparavigna a Con Nuestro Perú.

Dra. Amelia Carolina Sparavigna

La estudiosa explicó que se encontraba analizando zonas de elevación de terrenos en el Titicaca, pero se dio con una gran red de trabajos realizados en la tierra cerca del lago que constituyen un esfuerzo agrícola casi inimaginable para mejorar las condiciones del suelo.Se puede apreciar pendientes de colinas cruzadas con paredes de terrazas y superficies cubiertas de trabajo en el terreno. "¡Algunas de las formas son geoglifos!", exclamó la doctora Sparavigna y agrega que representan animales cuyos ojos son estanques. Por su inmenso tamaño, la mejor forma de graficarlos es a través de imágenes satelitales.La doctora Sparavigna indica que estos antiguos geoglifos están sujetos a un proceso natural de erosión, pero es preocupante para su conservación la acción de los modernos métodos de agricultura.Estando estos geoglifos ubicados en zonas peruanas y bolivianas, sería necesario un esfuerzo binacional para preservar este notabilísimo legado prehispánico.
¿Cómo pudieron los antiguos peruanos realizar estos diseños, visibles sólo desde el aire?

QUOTE OF THE DAY

2010-10-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

Naomi Bliven
Behind almost every woman you ever heard of stands a man who let her down.

SOUNDS FROM SPACE

2010-09-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Each time the International Space Station or a meteor passes over the Roswell AFB in
New Mexico, their radar captures the passing object as a bing...
I have capture the bing and transformed into an image.

OUR GREED FOR ENERGY

2010-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Islington Substation, New Zealand
Photograph by Chris McKay,

The sun sets over the Islington substation in Christchurch, New Zealand.

WATER TANK

2010-09-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

Water Tank, Kenya
Photograph by Lynn Johnson

Rendille villagers in northern Kenya scoop the dregs from a water tank filled only the night before by a government truck but already drained below the level of its spigot.

They must wait a week for the next delivery.

GANGES RIVER POLLUTION

2010-09-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Ganges River Pollution
Photograph by Tushar Sharma,
This Month in Photo of the Day: Nature and Environment
This shot was taken at Varanasi, India. A boat man still sleeping in the morning and the boats created a splendid formation. I was shocked that pollution from tourists throwing garbage and plastic waste into the River Ganges is slowly killing the environment.

DESERT OF DEATH

2010-09-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

Desert of Death,

Afghanistan
Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie
Like drifting clouds, hilltops mirrored in a mirage appear to float behind a Land-Rover. The illusion is created by heat waves shimmering in 120-degree (49-degree-Celsius) temperatures of the Dasht-i-Margo—Afghanistan's so-called "Desert of Death."

MOUNT ETNA

2010-09-20T22:30:00.001-07:00

Lava river

SABIA USTED?

2010-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

SOLAR FLARE TO HIT EARTH ON 8/24/2010

2010-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

CORONAL HOLE: A coronal hole on the sun is turning to face Earth.

Coronal holes are places in the sun's atmosphere where the magnetic field opens up and allows solar wind to escape.

Here is a magnetic map of the hole from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory:
Image credit: Karel Schrijver, Lockheed Martin SAL
In the image, magnetic field lines are color-coded. White field lines are closed; they hold the solar wind in. Golden-brown field lines are open; they allow the solar wind out.
A stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole is expected to reach Earth on August 24th or 25th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when it arrives.

THE PEARL OF ALLAH

2010-08-10T12:28:00.001-07:00

The Pearl of Allah
Once there was a Muslim diver who found a pearl with its surface having an image of a turbaned face that he named it “Pearl of Allah”.
Only in the Philippines where at the Brooke’s Point, Palawan of a rumpled government office lies what is said to be, THE LARGEST PEARL IN THE WORLD. The Pearl of Allah or the Pearl of Lao Tzu as it is now called.
Having a length of 9.4 inches and weighing 14 pounds. This heavy treasure has claimed its title in obvious conviction.
Surprisingly having been ignored by casual visitors, it has yet to unfold the treasure that lies and what pride is deemed found in the said Gem, ironically naming this country “The Pearl of the Orient”, the publicity of this treasure has yet to be told.
The Guiness Book of Records had declared the Pearl to have a value of over $40 million dollars.
Barbish who owns 66% of the Pearl had claimed that an offer has been made to buy the Pearl by the top terrorist of the world himself, Osama bin Laden with a whopping $60 million with the main purpose of giving it to Saddam Hussein.
The ownership would be the least of accountability but what seems significant in this matter would be where it was found and where it is now… In the Philippines. Though claims of its origin start showing up from left to right, and mysteries unravel and baffle minds, the facts lies their, the pearl itself at the Brooke’s Point in Palawan… The Pearl of Allah.

NEW MEXICO FIREBALL

2010-08-01T20:15:00.001-07:00

NEW MEXICO FIREBALL: Dawn came early to New Mexico on Saturday around 4:54 am local time when a brilliant meteor exploded near Santa Fe. "It turned night into day," says amateur astronomer Thomas Ashcraft who recorded the fireball using an all-sky video camera: must-see movie. The movie's soundtrack is the signal from a 61 MHz forward-scatter meteor radar also operated by Ashcraft. Ghostly echoes from the meteor's debris continue long after the meteor itself explodes. Listen again.

COMPLEX ERUPTION OF THE SUN

2010-08-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

COMPLEX ERUPTION ON THE SUN: This morning around 0855 UT, Earth orbiting satellites detected a C3-class solar flare. The origin of the blast was sunspot 1092. At about the same time, an enormous magnetic filament stretching across the sun's northern hemisphere erupted. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the action:
Click to launch a 304 Å movie
The timing of these events suggest they are connected, and a review of SDO movies strengthens that conclusion. Despite the ~400,000 km distance between them, the sunspot and filament seem to erupt together; they are probably connected by long-range magnetic fields. In this movie (171 Å), a shadowy shock wave (a "solar tsunami") can be seen emerging from the flare site and rippling across the northern hemisphere into the filament's eruption zone. That may have helped propel the filament into space.
In short, we have just witnessed a complex global eruption involving almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun.
A coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by the event is heading directly for Earth: SOHO movie. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when it arrives on or about August 3rd.
more images: from Francois Rouviere of Mougins, France; from Rogerio Marcon of Campinas SP Brasil; from Didier Favre of Brétigny-sur-Orge, France; from Cai-Uso Wohler of Bispingen, Germany; from Wouter Verhesen of Sittard, The Netherlands; from Michael Buxton of Ocean Beach, California

GLOBAL ERUPTION: During the early hours of August 1st, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a complex global disturbance on the Earth-facing side of the sun. Most of the sun's northern hemisphere was involved in the event, which included a long-duration C3-class solar flare, a "solar tsunami," and a massive filament eruption. As a result of these blasts, a coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading toward Earth. High-latitude geomagnetic storms and auroras are possible when the cloud arrives a few days hence. Check http://spaceweather.com for movies and updates.

WORLD RECORD HAIL STORM IN SOUTH DAKOTA

2010-07-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

By Shawn NeisteadtPublished: July 27, 2010, 5:52 PM
VIVIAN, SD - A small South Dakota town is being recognized for a big find after last Friday's storms. It was Friday afternoon when a line of thunderstorms fired up in central South Dakota. High winds, heavy rains and even a possible tornado rolled through the town of Vivian. But now days later, a hailstone picked up just moments after the storm is getting worldwide attention. The damage is proof that it wasn't a typical South Dakota thunderstorm. Holes were punched through the top of buildings, and Les Scott will never forget what it sounded like. "A guy throwing bricks at the house and many of them and it was scary," Scott said. Scott watched as massive hailstones pummeled the ground. Tuesday, the dents in the ground are still visible, some as large and deep as coffee cans. But when the hail stopped, a certain stone grabbed his attention. "I just happened to see this one fall and the only reason I went out and got it is because it has all these fingers sticking out of it and I thought, 'Oh, that's weird.' So I thought I'd go get that one," Scott said. Scott originally wanted to make a daiquiri out of the hail, but decided to contact the National Weather Service instead. Tuesday, they were in Vivian. They carefully took the stone from the freezer and placed it in a cooler with dry ice. The next stop was at the post office where the hail had a date with the federally certified scale. Moments later, the hailstone weighed in at 1.9375 pounds. “Officially, where records have been kept, this will be the U.S. record and world record for weight. So very impressive," Mike Fowle of the National Weather Service said. But the inspection of the new world record hail wasn't done there. To ensure that the hailstone didn't melt, it was then measured while inside a freezer at a local convenience store. The hailstone is down to 17 inches around, but was measured just a few days ago at 18 and a half inches. That is another world record number. "I didn't think it was near that, but I'm glad I got it I guess. I'm just sad about the town of Vivian. I hope the insurance people help them out as much as they can because they need it," Scott said. As impressive as the size and weight are, it may have topped two pounds when it fell from the sky. While Scott placed it in the freezer, the power was out for six hours following the storm, and it likely melted a bit in that time.
© 2010 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved.

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE 1811 QUAKE

2010-07-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

A Detailed Narrative of the Earthquakes which occurred on the 16th day of December, 1811*(Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of NY, vol. 1, pp. 281-307)
Samuel L. Mitchill, Representative in Congress
Transcription and notes, Susan E. Hough, U.S. Geological Survey, Pasadena (May, 2000).
*Full title: A detailed narrative of the earthquakes which occurred on the 16th day of December, 1811, and agitated the parts of North America that lie between the Atlantic Ocean and Louisiana; and also a particular account of the other quakings of the earth occasionally felt from that time to the 23d and 30th of January, and the 7th and 16th of February, 1812, and subsequently to the 18th of December, 1813, and which shook the country from Detroit and the Lakes to New-Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. Compiled chiefly at Washington, in the district of Columbia.
[Read before the Society on the 14th of April, and the 12th of May, 1814]

The beautiful comet which travelled through the northern celestial hemisphere during 1811, had offered itself plainly to view until the approach of the following year. Its elements, as calculated by Nathaniel Bowditch, Esq. and his learned associates, have already been placed before the public eye.
The tremendous storm from the northeast, near the end of December, 1811, began to leeward, near Cape Hatteras, and swept the American coast to the banks of Newfoundland, doing great damage to navigation, and exhibiting some curious facts in the history of the atmosphere. The particulars of this furious and memorable tempest have been collected by myself; and are in readiness to be offered to the society at the first convenient time.
My present intention is to read to you the information I have gathered on another occurrence of those portentous days. I mean the phenomena of the earthquakes, which terrified the country about the same period, and which continued a long time afterwards.
On the morning of Monday, the 16th of December, 1811, several shocks of earthquakes were felt at the city of Washington. The first of these happened at three o'clock; and in some houses was considerable enough to shake the doors and windows, and wake persons from their sleep. There were successive tremors. Tassels of curtains were seen to move; and pitchers of washing-stands were heard to rattle upon their basins. The sound was very distinguishable, and was believed by many to pass from southwest to northeast. The alarm was so great in some families, that searches were made from room to room, to discover the robbers who were imagined to have broken into the houses.
A second shock, though lighter, was experienced about six o'clock, and a third about eight.
A gentleman standing in his chamber at his desk and writing, in the third story of a brick house, upon the Capitol Hill, suddenly perceived his body to be in motion, vibrating backward and forward, and producing dizziness. Not suspecting the moment that the uncomfortable sensation was caused by an earthquake, he examined his desk to know whether it stood firm. Finding that it did, he dropped his pen; and turning his eyes upward, discerned that the looking-glass, and other things hanging near him, were in a similar motion.
Another person was near a table placed beneath a mirror. Feeling a giddiness come upon him, he seized the table for support. The general agitation of the chamber and house ceased in about a minute; but the looking-glass, which was suspended in the usual manner, continued to swing for some seconds longer. These observations, made by Messrs. Bigelow and Mosely, may serve as specimens of a multitude of phenomena of those kinds.
The atmosphere seemed to forebode some unusual occurrence. One of my most correct and respectable friends, declared in conversation, and stated to me in writing, that he made an observation of the sky about ten o'clock that night. It was quite calm. There was not a breath of wind stirring. The air was perfectly clear and free from clouds. Nevertheless, it was uncommonly dark, and the stars which appeared in every part through the gloom, were lurid and dim, and afforded little light.
In Richmond the signs of an earthquake were witnessed by many persons. At three o'clock on the same morning, (the 16th of December,) there were said to be three successive shocks; another about six; and a third about eight. Several people were impressed with a belief that thieves had entered their dwellings; and in one of the most elevated mansions, the bells were set a ringing in both the upper and lower rooms. The noise and concussion were supposed by some to proceed from east to west.
It was stated at Norfolk that two very distinct shocks were felt in that town and in Portsmouth; to wit, at three and eight o'clock in the morning of the 16th. Some clocks were reported to have stopped; the doors rattled; and articles hanging from the ceilings of shops and houses, swung to and fro, although a perfect calm prevailed.
At Raleigh (N.C.) several slight earthquakes were felt on the morning of the 16th December. The first happened between two and three o'clock, and was distinctly perceived by all who were awake at the time. Two others were reported to have occurred between that time and seven o'clock, but were not plainly observed, except by some members of the legislature, who were in the state-house, and were considerably alarmed at the shaking of the building.
From Georgetown, (S.C.) it was told, that several shocks had been experienced between the hours of three and eight, on the morning of the 16th. The inhabitants were much alarmed. The shocks were so considerable, that the parade-ground of the fort was said to have settled from one to two inches below its former level. A tub of water, standing upon a table in the barracks, was reported to have been overset by the jarring of the building. Another severe shock was felt two days afterwards, at noon.
At Columbia, (S.C.) the inhabitants were alarmed by repeated shocks. The first took place at half after two in the morning of Monday, which was represented as shaking the houses as if rocked by the waves of the sea. It was followed, after the cessation of a minute, by three slighter ones. At eight o'clock two others took place, and at ten, some slight ones. The South Carolina college appeared to rock from its foundation, and a part of its plaster fell; which so alarmed the students, that they left the chambers without their clothes. It seemed as if all the buildings would be levelled. The dogs barked; fowls made a racket; and many persons ran about with lights, not knowing where to go, so great was their terror. During the first agitation, it was observed, that the air felt as if impregnated with a vapour, which lasted for some time.
On Tuesday, at a quarter after twelve, another smart shock was experienced. At Laurens and Newbury, in the interior districts, it was so violent as to crack and start several chimnies.
At Charleston (S.C.) the sensation was of considerable strength. One account stated; that on the morning of the 16th, at a few minutes before three o'clock, a severe shock of an earthquake was felt. Its duration conjectured to ahve been between two and three minutes. For an hour previous, though the air was perfectly calm, and several stars visible, there was, at intervals of about five minutes, a rumbling noise like that of distant thunder; which increased in violence of sound just before the shock was felt. The vibrations of St. Philip's steeple caused the clock bell to ring about ten seconds. Two other shocks were felt afterwards, one a little before eight, and the other about a quarter of an hour after. Both these were slighter and shorter than the first. Many of the family clocks were stopped by the concussions. In many wells the water was considerably agitated. From another source it was related that Charleston was shaken by an earthquake severely, at the time before specified. This was preceded by a noise resembling the blowing of a smith's bellows. The agitation of the earth was such that the bells in the church steeples rang to a degree indicative of an alarm for fire. The houses were so much moved that many persons were induced to rise from their beds. The clocks generally stopped. Another slight shock was experienced about fifteen minutes after; and yet another at eight o'clock. This last one produced a considerable rattling among glass, china, and other furniture. A looking-glass hanging against a west wall was observed to vibrate two or three inches from north to south.
The ingenious writer of the meteorological observations for Charleston during December, 1811, has noticed these occurrences in a manner too interesting to be omitted. According to his remarks, there were seven shocks during the month, having a vibratory motion from east to west. In many persons the motion produced nausea. All the shocks, except the last, were preceded by noises resembling the rattling of a carrage over a pavement. There had been less thunder during the preceding season than usual. THe days of thunder amount annually to about sixty; but this year there were no more than thirty-eight. The beautiful comet was visible in the northwest during the whole month.
The inhabitants of Savannah were sensible of four earthquakes. The first was on the morning of the 16th December, between two and three o'clock. It was preceded by a flash of light, and a rattling noise, resembling that of a carriage passing over a paved road. It lasted about a minute. A second soon succeeded, but its duration was shorter. A third happened about eight o'clock; and a fourth about noon on the 17th. Persons who experienced the hardest shock, were made to totter, as if on shipboard. Its course was believed to be from southwest to northeast.
It was observed, by Dr. Macbride of Pineville, (S.C.) that the earthquake terrified the inhabitants exceedingly. It was accompanied by several appearances that countenances the theory of this phenomenon, which brings in the agency of the electric fluid. 1. The unfrequency or absence of thunder storms; that is, they were much less frequent this year than usual, especially in the autumn. 2. Immediately before the earthquake, a red appearance of the clouds, which had much darkened the water for twenty-four hours immediately before the shock; and 3. The loudness of the thunder, and the number of the peals within twenty-four hours after the first shock, and but a few hours before the last, which was felt before he wrote. Such thunder was very unusual at that season.
At Natchez, the occurrences, as related by a careful observer, were as follow: Four shocks were felt on the morning of the 16th. The principal one was at tem minutes after two, A.M. There was no noise, except in a few situations. Several clocks were stopped. Articles, in some instances, fell from shelves. Plastered walls were sometimes cracked. The Mississippi was agitated as if the banks were falling in. The trees in the forests waved their tops. Many houses were shaken considerably. And things suspended on nails or pins swung backwards and forwards.
Information was forwarded from Tennessee, that the earth quaked so violently, as to throw down chimnies, in some places. Eighteen or twenty acres of land, adjacent to Piney river, suddenly fell down, and sunk so low, that the tops of the trees were on a level with the surrounding earth. Four other shocks were experienced on the 17th, and one or more continued daily until the 30th.
At Knoxville, the quaking of the earth on the 16th was represented to have lasted more than three minutes. The rattling of the windows and furniture of the houses were such as to awaken almost every family. This was about two in the morning. It was followed, in half an hour, by another, which continued half a minute. Between sunrise and breakfast, three others were felt, of only a few seconds in duration. At the end of the first and longest shock, there were, in a direction due north, two flashes of light, at the interval of about a minute, very much like distant lightning.
At Columbia, in Tennessee, between two and three o'clock on the morning of the 16th December, the inhabitants were suddenly alarmed by a voilent agitation in the earth. It was accompanied by a peculiar sound, proceeding from southwest to northeast. Immediately after the shock had ceased, a very large volume of something like smoke was discovered to rise in the quarter whence the sound appeared to come; and pursuing nearly the same course, finally settled in the north, exhibiting the appearance of a black cloud. The shock was computed to have continued from ten to fifteen minutes.
At Louisville, (Ken.) near the falls of the Ohio, on Monday morning about three o'clock, a violent shock of an earthquake was felt. It was judged to have continued about three minutes. This was followed by three or four others of less violence. A number of houses suffered considerable damage; the chimnies having been so much cracked as to require repairs by the mason. On the evening previous to the shock, there was a gentle rain, such as we have in April; and the night was rather close and dark; but at the termination of the first shock, it was light enough to enable a pin to be seen.
By information from Jeffersonville, in the Indiana Territory, on the opposite side of the Ohio, it was understood that the shocks were reiterated, and the writer of the account I am now copying, declares that the table was in motion from the earthquake, while he was employing his pen to describe the phenomena. The day preceding was extremely dark and gloomy there, and warmth and smokiness distinguished the weather for some time after.
At Vincennes, the earthquake occurred about two o'clock on the morning of the 16th December. Other shocks of less violence followed it for several days. It was so severe that the inhabitants were greatly concerned for the safety of their houses.
At the Reb Banks, one hundred and fifty miles below Louisville, it was stated in a letter to my friend, the hon. Anthony New, dated January 4, 1812, "that there had been from twenty to thirty shocks of earthquakes at that place. They begun on the morning of December 16, at about half after two o'clock. The first one, and another at sunrise the same morning, were most violent indeed. We had to flee from our houses. Several chimnies were thrown down, and many others so wrecked and cracked as to be very dangerous. The noise which accompanied the several shocks is said to have come from the west."
The town of St. Louis, in Louisiana, experienced a full proportion of the commotion. Mr. Riddick, being at St. Louis, near the Mississippi, observed to me, that the shocks were preceded by a remarkable calm. The atmosphere was of a dingy and lurid aspect, and gleams and flashes of light were frequently visible around the horizon, in different directions, generally ascending from the earth. Sometimes sounds were heard, like wind rustling thorugh the trees, but not resembling thunder.
The first earthquake was felt aobut a quarter of an hour after two in the morning of the 16th. It roused persons from their sleep, by the clatter of windows, doors, and furniture, in tremulous motion. There was a rumbling distant noise, resembling a number of carriages passing over a pavement. In a few seconds the motions and noises had considerably increased. The sky was obscurred by a thick and hazy fog, without a breath of wind. The weather was moderate, with the mercury about eight degrees above the freezing point. At forty-seven minutes after two, a second shock was felt. At thirty-four minutes after three, a third came; which was as tremulous as the first, but not followed by so much noise. A little after daylight, there was a fourth; at eight, a fifth; and at half past eleven, a sixth; several persons felt, or imagined, others. They were of different lengths, from two minutes to a few seconds. No lives were lost; some chimnies were thrown down; and a few stone houses split. The morning was observed to be very hazy, and unusually warm for the season. The houses and fences seemed to be covered with a white frost; but on examination, this appearance was illusive. A vapour hovered over every thing, and shrouded the morning in awful gloom.
At Lebanon, in Ohio, the alarm was so great, that many persons forsook their houses. The vibration of the shocks seemed to be from east to west.
At Circleville on Monday morning between one and two o'clock, many of the inhabitants were considerably alarmed by a sudden and violent trembling of their houses, which was supposed to have proceeded from an earthquake. Many persons, affrighted, leaped out of bed. Another was felt at eight; but there was no explosion.
A letter from Kentucky to my friend, the hon. John Talliaferro, informed him that on the night between the 15th and 16th December, 1811, the shock of an earthquake was sensibly and alarmingly felt. The shakings continued, in greater or less degrees, through night and day, up to the 30th of the same month, when a more severe shock than any preceding one occurred. It overturned almost every brick or stone chimney in Henderson county, or the region thereof, situated on Green river, down to its confluence with the Ohio.
The editor of the Western Spy, a newspaper printed at Cincinnati, in Ohio, after writing an intelligent account of the phenomena of the earthquake, gave a valuable summary from the gazettes of the occurrences in other places along the western waters.
By the intelligence from Detroit, from Judge James Witherall, it appears that Michigan was agitated by the same subterranean power. A small shock was felt at Detroit on the 17th December. The atmosphere was serene, but cold. Thirty miles northwest of that village is a lake about nine miles in circumference, of an oval form, and which is supposed to have communication under ground with Lake Sinclair. In the centre of this lake there is an island of perhaps three miles in circumference, inhabited only by Indians. They relate, that on the said 17th December the waters of the lake appeared to tremble, and boil like a great pot over a hot fire; and immediately a vast number of large tortoises rose to the surface, and swam rapidly to the shore, where they were taken for food.
The testimony of Colonel Samuel Hammong, in a letter of the 6th February, 1812, which I received from him, was to the following effect. He confined himself strictly to what he know from personal observation. The first shock he witnessed was on the 15/16th of December last. He was then at Herculaneum in Louisiana. A few seconds before the motion was felt, he and others heard a considerable roaring or rumbling noise, resembling a blaze of fire acted upon by wind. The motion of the frame of the house on which he stood was tremulous. It began instantly after to rock pretty violently. This continued, as he thought, about ten to twelve minutes. The vibrations of the chimney were, perhaps, about three or four inches each way, and were in the direciton of southeast and northwest nearly. The noise which preceded the shock was from the northwest. Its commencement was about two o'clock in the morning. One hour after there was a second, which was light, and of very short duration. No houses or chimnies were thrown down by either of those. The motion was very much like the first, but of short duration. This injured several brick and stone chimneys. Its duration between one and a half and two and a half minutes. About sunrise the same morning there was a fourth shock. The vibrations of the chimneys at twenty-five feet from the ground, were at least four inches each way. The direction was the same as the first. The motion of the earth was very perceptible. Cradles rocked, and the church bells rang. Several chimnies were cracked to their bases, and some were broken off as low as the stem or funnel. In this last shock, the water in the river Mississippi was thrown into commotion, bubbling like boiling water; and, in a few minutes, the whole atmosphere was filled with smoke or fog, so that a boat could not be seen within twenty paces from the water's edge; and the houses were so shrouded as not to be seen fifty feet; this smoke continued all the forepart of that day.
In passing along upon his journey, he found the effects had been pretty uniform, and their occurrence and duration nearly the same, as far as Carthage, in the state of Tennessee. There were one or more shocks every twenty-four hours, from the first-mentioned one, until the night of January 1, 1812. Then, at about half after three in the morning, being at Carthage, he felt a severer shock. It threw bricks from a chimney which had been previously broken by the first shock; he found, on inquiry, that the motion was considerably greatest near the large water courses. The court-house at Carthage is a large brick edifice, and was cracked to its foundation, and considerably damaged. Several chimnies had been cast down, by the shock of the 16th of December. Everywhere it was stated to him by those who witnessed the motions, that they were from the south of west, to the opposite point, or vice versa. In the county of Christian, (Kentucky,) af fine and fresh spring was observe to run very muddy for several hours. On examining it, after the feculence had settled, he found it to be so strongly impregnated with sulphur; so much so that it was spoiled for domestic uses; indeed it had been converted to one of the strongest brimstone springs he ever met with.
But considerable as these operations were, they were surpassed by others which took place along the river Mississippi; indeed, the strata underlying the bed of this stream appear to have been the principal seat of the commotion or, at least, the place where it was most considerable. The phenomena were described in the most fearful and alarming strains by several writers. Much exaggeration was interwoven with some of the narratives. Some, indeed, were tinctured with fable and burlesque. Among the various recitals it became exceedingly difficult to find out the true, or even the most probable, account. Five or six witnesses, who seem to have been wholly unknown to each other, agree in so many particulars, that their united evidence may be considered to approach as near to the truth as we can expect to arrive.
First, the writer of a letter from the Chicasah Bluffs, dated December 21st, to his correspondent in Cincinnati, stated many particulars from his personal observation. The first shock happened at thirty minutes after two, on the morning of the 16th, and was followed by many more within a few days. The boat was acted upon by the water in such a manner as to induce a belief that she had grounded; but upon sounding, he could find no bottom. The current, at the place where he was at the time of the occurrence, (eighty-seven miles below the mouth of the Ohio,) acquired three times its former velocity, and the river rose six feet upon its former level; the trunks of trees, bedded in the bottom, suddenly rose in great numbers to the surface; the banks tumbled down at an alarming rate; and the land was rent by cracks and fissures.
Secondly, a writer from New Madrid, in a communication to a friend in Lexington, dated 16th December, describes a tremendous noise as rousing the family from their sleep, rocking the house, throwing down the chimney, and terrifying them so, that they passed the remainder of the morning, from two o'clock, when the shock was felt, in the open air. During the time of the shock, the heavens were very clear and serene; there being not a breath of air stirring; but in five minutes it became very dark; and a vapour which seemed to impregnate the atmosphere, had a disagreeable smell, and produced a difficulty of breathing. This darkness continued until nearly the break of day. During its continuance there were six more shocks. About half after six it cleared up. However, the danger was increased by another shock, which racked the houses violently, and threw down the chimneys. The darkness returned, and it was accompanied by loud noises, and a bounding motion up and down. Many persons were so alarmed that they formed encampments in the fields. The shocks were repeated from time to time, until the 28th, and then amounted to sixty-seven.
Accounts from Little Prairie (note 1) stated that ponds had been converted to upland, and dry land to lakes; that the banks of the river had sunk and fallen in to great extent; that cracks had been formed in the earth; that water had gushed out; and that there was a strange and chaotic mixture of the elements. In some places, sand, mud, water, and stone-coal were reported to have been thrown up thirty yards high.
Thirdly; a more full and circumstantial history of those eruptions and commotions was drawn up by Mr. William Leigh Pierce, who, at the time of their occurrence, was passing down the Mississippi in a boat.
After having described the occurrences of the 16th, 17th, and 18th, up to the 19th, he wrote from the Big Prairie, under date of December 25th, to his acquaintance in New-York, a very circumstantial account, which was published in the journals of the time. His narrative abounds with facts showing the irresistible and ruinous effects of the commotion, which he thinks might have been considered as protracted to the surprising length of one hundred and seventy-eight hours.
Fourthly; to these I subjoin another respectable communication, from Mr. Joseph Ficklin of Russelville, (Ken.) who thus describes the earthquakes, in a letter dated February 5, 1812: "The shocks continue. The accounts that you will see in the Nashville and Lexington papers may be confided in. I have conversed with several persons from New Madrid, all of whom confirm the above. The bottom of the Mississippi river, two under miles west of this place, was cracked in some places fifteen feet in width, and cast up warm water sufficient to inundate the settlement from one to two feet. In this situation, the poor inhabitants sought for the highest ground, where some remained for seventeen days, looking for the earth to swallow them up. Indians who were two hundred and fifty miles beyond the Mississippi, and about five hundred miles west of this place, relate sights of horror, in the tumbling down of rocks, the fall of trees, and the lights of fire; which prove to my satisfaction that the cause of this alarm lies in the mountains or hills which are between the head of the Arkansaw river, and the waters of the Missouri, not more than six hundred miles from this place, a little south of west. The shocks are much more severe one hundred and fifty miles west of this than they are here. Fortunately, there are no brick or stone houses near the seat of danger to destroy the people. The Indians cannot have suffered much in their tends and bark houses. But the United States will suffer in the sales of their public lands west of the Mississippi for an age. At least the present generation must be buried before the spirit of wandering, in that direction, revives; and may it not be an advantage that some power exists to fix a boundary for our fellow citizens; for my own part, I am pleased in viewing the benefits which my country will derive from this great shock. We had one last night."
Fifthly: there is further information contained in a letter from a gentlement at the mouth of the Cumberland river to his friend in Woodford county, Kentucky, dated February 10, 1812: it was published in the newspapers of that state, and corroborates substantially the recitals of the other witnesses.
Sixthly; Daniel Bedinger, Esq. who was passing down the Mississippi, in a boat, at the very time, was a witness of the occurrences, near him; and he described them in his journal, dated at New-Orleans, January 15, 1812: He bears witness of the noises that attended the shocks; the froth that formed on the surface of the river from the bursting of air bubbles; and of the elevation of innumerable logs and trees from the bottom of the Mississippi. Cracks and rents in the earth and the falling of banks were frequent and terrible.
The earthquakes were not felt quite so strongly at or below New-Orleans.
In all these shakings of the ground it is particularly to be observed, that there were but slight indications of them at Baltimore, or in any place to the eastward or northward. The evidence from Philadelphia and New-York was of a dubious character; though some persons at the latter place, and at Newark, assured me they felt several small concussions. It seemed, however, as if the Maryland side of the Potomac and the ridge of the Alleghany, might almost be deemed the limits of their extension; the more considerable proofs of their power having been to the westward of the latter, and to the southward of the former, of those boundaries.
On the 23d of January, the earthquakes were renewed, to greater extent than before, and in some places with increased violence.
One was felt at Washington, about nine A. M., and the witnesses of the concussion were very numerous. The phenomena very much resembled that of the 16th of December. A few recitals will answer all the purposes of information.
At Nottingham, in Maryland, the shock was alleged to have happened twenty minutes after nine, and to have lasted a minute. The writer of the account was sitting in a room with two other persons, occupied in reading, when it was asked by one of them what made the chamber shake so? This called the attention of them all to the movement, which they described as having the same effects as the rolling of a vessel on an agitated sea.
The inhabitants of Richmond (Va.) felt it severely at half after none. Like the former, it was more sensible on Shockoe and Richmond hills, than in the lower parts of the city. In some instances, books were nearly thrown from their shelves, and many persons at breakfast precipately left the tables.
At Cashockton, in the state of Ohio, on the morning of the 23d of January, at Georgetown, Louisville, Chilicothe, Paris, Washington, and Frankfort, the shocks excited a great share of attention.
At Charleston, (S.C.) on the same morning, to wit, of the 23d of January, at fifteen minutes after nine o'clock, the vibratory shock on an earthquake was felt more severely than on the former occasions.
This was said to have been more extensive than the preceding ones, inasmuch as the newspapers stated that it was felt at New York.
Another was experienced in Kentucky, on the 30th of January. It was described in a letter from Louisville to Stephen Ormsby, Esq. as having proceeded from the west, about the same time of night with that of December 29. It was not near so violent. The relater was waked from sleep by a noise like that of a carriage, which was followed by a shake. About six minutes before the shock, the whole heavens appeared to be illuminated, and darkness immediately afterwards ensued. No damage was done.
These commotions were renewed in February, as appears by the intelligence from Michigan, written to me by Judge Witherall:
"The earthquakes continue to visit us. On the 3d instant, fourteen minutes past 4 P. M., a small shock was felt; the mercury low, but not quite in the ball; it had risen very considerably a few hours previous to the shock. On the 7th, at 4 P. M., the weather continuing moderate, the shock was strong, nearly equalling the one I previously mentioned to you, and continued about ninety seconds; on the same evening, at half past seven, another small shock; at fifty-five minutes past nine, the same evening, another small shock; at eleven, another, and at 2 A. M. of the 8th, one which seemed to produce a different motion; that is, like pounding up and down, instead of oscillating.
On the 7th of February several shocks occurred at Pittsburgh. These were most extensively felt, and by no means confined to that region. They began about four in the morning. Many persons were so much alarmed as to rise from their beds and run out of doors, screaming with affright. Flashes of light similar to those seen on the 16th of December were perceived toward the southwest. The last concussions were greater than any that had been experienced before. There was another shake between ten and eleven that night.
Being on horseback in Livingston County, Kentucky, Mr. Riddick, on the morning of the 8th of February, was sensible of the earthquake. His horse refused to proceed, and bracing himself on his legs, stood still. The atmosphere was remarkably luminous for some time prior to the shaking of the ground. There was no moonshine; and yet objects could be seen to a considerable distance. On this occasion the brightness was general and did not proceed from any point or spot in the heavens. It was broad and expanded, reaching from the zenith, on every side, toward the horizon. It exhibited no flashes, nor coruscations; but, as long as it lasted, was a diffused illumination of the atmosphere on all sides; but no noise was distinguished until the shaking of the earth began; then the usual rumbling sound was heard.
William W. Worsely, Esq. of Lexington, (Ken.) on the 29th of February, reported the particulars at large, and published them in the newspapers.
Thomas Crawford, jun. of Louisville, (Ken.) published an account of the terrestrial commotions in very emphatical terms at Russelville, (Kentucky.)
Mr. Mathias M. Speed wrote to his friend, Thomas Speed, Esq. of Bardstown, an account of the earthquake of February 7, and the following days, in a communication dated March 3, 1812. He states the appearance of frequent lights during the commotions, and that from one of the low islands in the Mississippi, where he was, sand, coal, and warm water were ejected from holes in the earth.
Some of the coal was collected by Mr. Pierce, and transmitted to me. About the 1st of May, 1812, I made a few experiments upon it at the city of Washington. I found it to be very inflammable; it consumed with a bright and vivid blaze. A copious smoke was emitted from it, whose smell was not at all sulphureous, but btuminous in a high degree. Taken out of the fire in its ignited and burning state it did not immediately become extinct; but continued to burn until it was consumed. While blowed upon, instead of being deadened, it became brighter by the blast. The ashes formed during the combustion were of a whitish colour; and when put into water, imparted to it the quality of turning to a green the blue corolla of a phlox whose juice was subjected to its action. By this, and other tests, the alkalinity of the residue was fully acertained.
The Hon. Israel Pickens of Buncombe county, (N. C.) received a letter from the Rev. John Carrigan, dated 28th of February, and containing the following information:
"During my travels lately to and from the state of Georgia, I made it a part of my business to obtain the most accurate accounts of the present shaking of the earth, from all parts. I have found that in all parts of the continent the motion of the earth has been the same, and its partiality remarked in the same neighborhoods. In this country, the first rocking (as it is generally called) was perceived on the 23d of December, a little before daylight. Since that time it has been observed almost every week through South Carolina and parts of Georgia. Several persons in those states have told me that they had felt it almost every day since. No damages have arisen, more than a few bricks shaken off some chimneys. There is no truth in the report in circulation respecting the fall of the Painted Rock, and other extraordinaries in Buncombe county. (note 2) I gave my friend, Colonel Freeman, (in Georgia,) a call, who informed me that he had particularly noticed some tall poplers in his lane during the time of the second shock, rocking with equable motion from northeast to southwest, which I have found to be general. On the 7th and 16th instant the shaking has been general here. I do not consider it an earthquake proceeding form the usual causes."
"Captain Robert Alexander, of Lincoln, (N. C.) gave me a most alarming account of a phenomenon which was generally seen on the night of the 20th instant. Three large extraordinary fires, in the air, one appeared in an easterly direction, one in the north, and one in the south. Their continuance was several hours; their size as large as a house on fire; the motion of the blaze quite visible, but no sparks appeared."
"Another phenomenon appeared on the 22d of November, of which I was a spectator. About 2 o'clock P. M. a meteor took fire in the air, attended with a fulminating noise, and bore a southeast direction; and however unaccountable, it is a fact, that about the same instant, a whitish substance, resembling a duck in size and shape, detached itself, and descended with a swift motion, from the cloud of smoke that was formed, and was beheld at my house, and fifteen miles due north of it, and twenty-three miles west of it, at the same instant."
"Whether these things are ominous or not, one thing is certain, this is a time of extraordinaries."
To these curious notices, I add the communication from New-Orleans, of William Shaler, Esq. dated March 23d, 1812. "Dear Sir,"
"Knowing the interest you take in all natural events, I do myself the pleasure to communicate to you the following simple account of the late earthquake, as I received it from the patron of a Kentucky boat lately arrived here. On the 7th of last February, at 3 A. M., being moored to the bank of the Mississippi, about thirteen miles above New Madrid, he was awakened by a tremendous roaring noise, felt his vessel violently shaken, and observed the trees over the bank falling in every direction, and agitated like reeds on a windy day, and many sparks of fire emitted from the earth. He immediately cut his cable and put off into the middle of the river, where he soon found the current changed, and the boat hurried up, for about the space of a minute, with the velocity of the swiftest horse; he was obliged to hold his hand to his head to keep his hat on. On the current's running its natural course, which it did gradually, he continued to proceed down the river, and at about daylight he came to a most terrific fall, which, he thinks, was at least six feet perpendicular, extending across the river, and about half a mile wide. (note 3) The whirls and ripplings of this rapid were such that the vessel was altogether unmanageable, and destruction seemed inevitable; some of the former he thinks were, at least, thirty feet deep, and seemed to be formed by the water's being violently sucked into some chasm in the river's bottom. He and his men were constantly employed in pumping and bailing, by which, and the aid of Providence, he says, he got safe through! As soon as he was able to look round, he observed whole forests on each bank fall prostrate, to use his own comparison, like soldiers grounding their arms at the word of command. On his arrival at New-Madrid he found that place a complete wreck, sunk about twelve feet below its level, and entirely deserted; its inhabitants, with those of the adjacent country, who had fled thre for refuge, were encamped in its neighbourhood: he represents their cries as truly distressing. A large barge loaded with five hundred barrels of flour, and other articles, was split from end to end, and turned upside down at the bank. Of nearly thirty loaded boats only this and one more escaped destruction; the water ran twelve feet perpendicular, and threw many of them a great many rods on shore; several lives were lost among the boatmen. Another fall was formed about eight miles below the town, similar to the one above, the roaring of which he could distinctly hear at New-Madrid. He waited five days for the fall to wear away; during that time the earth was constantly trembling, at intervals of about five minutes. He observed many fissures in the earth below the town, five or six feet wide, extending in length out of sight, and one side several feet lower than the other. On the fifth day he passed the lower fall which had worn away to a practicable rapid. He felt a succession of shocks of earthquake until he came down to Flam Island. He spoke of many physical changes in the river, particularly a great multiplication of sawyers, but he does not describe them with sufficient accuracy to enable me to give you an account of them."
"I have also seen several persons who passed New-Madrid on the 20th of February; they report that the earth still continues to tremble there, at that time. The falls had worn away to smooth rapids."
"With very great respect and esteem I am, Dear Sir, your very humble servant," "The Hon. Samuel L. Mitchill
W.SHALER."
The information contained in a description, forward to William Duane, Esq. by one of his correspondents at St. Genevieve, in Louisiana, shows the state of opinion in the mind of the sensible writer, there, about the 1st of April, 1812, on the subjects of the earthquakes at New-Madrid, and the surrounding region. This may be found on the pages of his Aurora.
A.B. Woodward, Esq. one of the judges of Michigan Territory, in his letter of the 7th of April, 1812, wrote thus, "We have had nine shocks of the earthquake here, of which I have an exact memorandum for eight, and have somehow entirely lost the time of the other. I felt four myself. I know only one person, a French lady, who felt the whole; speaking here of the eight." And in a letter dated June 23d, the same gentleman observes that "in a late journey to the Riviere aux Tranches, in Upper Canada, I found the number of shocks of the earthquake felt there, was exactly the same as here, that is, nine.
Dr. Robertson, the enterprising traveller to the sources of the Arkansaw River, by order of the government, in 1806, witnessed the phenomenona of these earthquakes, very particularly at St. Genevieve, where he resided during their occurrence. He travelled with me from Washington to Fredericktown, on the 3d of July, 1812, and parted with me at that place on the morning of the 4th, he journeying to the westward by the way of Hagerstown, and I proceeding southwestwardly to Harper's Ferry, and its vicinity. This gentleman, among other matters, declared to me, that the had kept a record or memorandum of the shocks of these earthquakes, until they exceeded five hundred , and then ceased to note them any more, because he became weary of the task.
The commotions, however, did not end here. They were renewed from time to time. My correspondent, Peter H. Cole, wrote me, in a letter dated at Clarksville, in Montgomery county, Tennessee, under date of December 15, 1812, as follows: "The earthquakes continue to visit us. We had a tolerably severe one on the morning of the 14th instant. The 16th instant will make one year since they commenced. They have destroyed a number of chimneys in this state, and terrified many of the inhabitants."
So, on the 24th of November, 1812, a shock was again felt in the morning, near Russelville, in Kentucky.
The same gentleman afterwards, in a communication from the same place, of January 26, 1813, furnished additional facts, "In the month of September," he stated, "I visited a spring of about the distance of fourteen miles from my residence. It was situated on the bank of a creek that issued forth strong sulphureous water. The smell was evident to a considerable distance. It received its sulphureous impregnation from a very heavy earthquake that occurred in January. Before that event it was a limestone water. On that occasion a new limestone spring broke out about twenty feet above the original spring; and to this day, the respective fountains pour forth their calcarious and sulphureous waters, in distinct currents. Some springs ceased to run for some time; and others ran muddy several hours after the earth had been convulsed. The earthquakes appeared to affect very sensibly both the body and mind of human beings. In some instances, where individuals had been deprived of their usual sleep, through fear of being ingulfed in the earth, their stomachs were troubled with nausea, and sometimes even vomiting. Others complained of debility, tremor, and pain in the knees and legs. The shocks seemed to produce effects resembling those of electricity. We have had a very wet spring, summer, and autumn, with a loaded atmosphere; and I have no doubt much impregnated with sulphureous particles. Sickness was much more prevalent last winter, spring, summer, and fall, than ever was known in this country; and, no doubt, the state of the atmosphere was the principal cause."
Nor had those subterranean tumults ceased at the close of 1813. For two shocks were felt at Russelville, on the 5th of December, one at ten o'clock in the morning, and the other four in the afternoon.
They were repeated in the Illinois Territory about the same time. Stanley Griswold, Esq. gave an account of them in a short narrative of December 18th. This was printed in the gazettes of the time. They were particularly severe at the salt works belonging to the United States; and but moderate at a short distance off. In the 16th volume of the Medical Repository, P. 304, there are other sensible observations of the same ingenious gentleman.
And on the 29th of December Mr. Hempstead, the delegate in congress from the Missouri Territory, moved for the consideration of a proposition relative to an additional judge in that quarter. He said he has been instructed by the legislature of the territory to bring the measure forward. The settlement of Arkansas, for which the new judge was asked, was situated two hundred miles from New-Madrid, where the courts were then held, and since the late earthquakes, the road had become so nearly impassable, that a circuit of three hundred miles was required to go from one place to the other. So great a distance from the seat of justice, obviously amounted, in many cases, to a denial of the benefits of the judiciary, and called loudly upon the legislature for a remedy.
After this minute, reiterated, and, perhaps, tedious detail of facts, it will be rational to attempt some deductions. When I engaged the task of collecting the evidence on these curious and interesting phenomena, I was in expectation that physical occurrences so immediately before our eyes and under our feet, would have qualified me to form something like a tolerable theory of earthquakes. I must own, however, that after all the information I have collected, I have not been enabled to offer a solution, by any means satisfactory to myself. But, although materials may yet be wanting for a perfect theory, it is a matter of some consolation to have assembled into one body, the phenomena of the most memorable earthquakes that ever agitated these parts of North America, and to have made a record of them for my sagacious and fortunate successors.
1. The trembling of the earth was felt from the Atlantic Ocean to the regions far beyond the Mississippi. The accounts given by the Indians uniformly stated that the shocks had been very frequent and violent, to a great distance up the Arkansaw. They appear to have been felt very little to the north of the Potomac, and east of the Alleghany.
2. Though the commotions were of great extent, it was not possible to assign a priority to any place. Though the earthquakes were not equally violent or extensive, yet in those of the widest diffusion or circuit, there was no method of tracing a succession; on the contrary, the shocks in the most distant situations were synchronous, or nearly so.
3. Air was produced below, and extricated into the atmosphere.
4. This, when it passed through water, produced bubbles and froth, and after their extrication, formed visible vapour, obscuring the atmosphere.
5. Hot water was ejected with considerable force.
6. Coal or carbonated wood was thrown up in a similar manner, and about the same time.
7. Light, in some cases, was extricated, and from the circumstances of its appearance, may be considered, not as an accidental coincidence of the earthquake, but as a natural and necessary accompaniment. But, in most places, there was no luminous appearance.
8. Sounds were sometimes heard, but by no means uniformly or steadily. In very many cases there was no noise at all.
9. The gas (3. and 4.) the hot water (5.) and the coal (6.) lead conclusively to the existence of subterranean fire; and the light (7.) and sound (8.) induce the same belief. (note 4)
10. But, after all, it is not very evident what kindles the flame beneath; by what means it is supported by air, and kept from extinction by water; how deep it lies; how it convulses the superincumbent strata, and communicates its tremors instantaneously, for several hundred miles. Nor am I able to explain to my satisfaction, why a certain part of the bed of the Mississippi was its focus; nor why it happened during the winter season.
I console myself, however, that the history which I have written will give valuable information to the curious on these subjects, and assist some more happy inquirer into nature, to deduce a full and adequate theory of earthquakes.
Let me, nevertheless, before I lay down my pen, request the reader to consider this paper as a sequel to the history of the earthquakes in New-England, as has it been written by the learned and ingenious Samuel Williams, LL. D. and published in the transactions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at Boston.
Permit me also to observe, that contemporaneous earthquakes have agitated other regions of the globe. Terrible commotions were experienced among the Azores in 1808 and 1811; and in Venezuela and St. Vincents in 1812. I have collected the facts into distinct histories, which I intend at convenient times to offer to this society.
The New Madrid Earthquake
This account of the New Madrid Earthquake was recorded by George Heinrich Crist, resisiding at the time in the north-central Kentucky county of Nelson, near the present location of Louisville. It was submitted by Floyd Creasey - 4th tier great-grandchild to author, now a Texas resident.
16 December 1811
"There was a great shaking of the earth this morning. Tables and chairs turned over and knocked around - all of us knocked out of bed. The roar I thught would leave us deaf if we lived. It was not a storm. when you could hear, all you cold hear was screams from people and animals. It was the worst thing that I have ever wittnesed. It was still dark and you could not see nothng. I thought the shaking and the loud roaring sound would never stop. You could not hold onto nothing neither man or woman was strong enough - the shaking would knock you lose like knocking hicror nuts out of a tree. I don't know how we lived through it. None of us was killed - we was all banged up and some of us knocked out for awile and blood was every where. When it got day break you could see the damage done all around. We still had our home it was some damage. Some people that the home was not built to strong did not. We will have to hunt our animals. Every body is scared to death. we still do not know if anybody was killed. I made my mind to one thing. If this earth quake or what ever it was did not happen in the Territory of Indiana then me and my family is moving to Pigeon Roost as soon as I can get things together.
23 January 1812
"What are we gonna do? You cannot fight it cause you do not know how. It is not something that you can see. In a storm you can see the sky and it shows dark clouds and you know that you might get strong winds but this you can not see anything but a house that just lays in a pile on the ground - not scattered around and trees that just falls over with the roots still on it. The earth quake or what ever it is come again today. It was as bad or worse than the one in December. We lost our Amandy Jane in this one - a log fell on her. We will bury her upon the hill under a clump of trees where Besys Ma and Pa is buried. A lot of people thinks that the devil has come here. Some thinks that this is the beginning of the world coming to a end.
8 Febuary 1812
"If we do not get away from here the ground is going to eat us alive. We had another one of them earth quakes yesterdy and today the ground still shakes at times. We are all about to go crazy - from pain and fright. We can not do anything until we can find our animals or get some more. We have not found enough to pull he wagons.
20 March 1812
"I do not know if our minds have got bad or what. But everybody says it. I swear you can still feel the ground move and shake some. We still have not found enough animals to pull the wagons and you can not find any to buy or trade.
14 April 1813
"We lived to make it to Pigeon Roost. We did not lose any lives but we had aplenty troubles. As much as I love my place in Kentucy - I never want to go back. From December to April no man - woman or animal if they could talk would dare to believe what we lived through. From what people say it was not that bad here - They felt the ground move and shake but it did not destroy cabins and trees like it did in Kentucky. I guess that things was as bad here but at least they could see the enemy. on 3 September 1812 the Shawnees that William thought was friendly went crazy and them savages killed twenty four people...."
The New Madrid Earthquake
This description of New Madrid Earthquake was submitted by Brenda Jo Barrett:
I recently received the following from Charlie Daniels (Commisioner of State Lands, State of Arkansas) in the publication _Land Lines_ (Vol.X, No.1):
"On December 15, 1811, John Bradbury, a Scottish naturalist, was headed down the Mississippi River with a party of boatmen. They were tied up for the night just upstream from the Chicksaw Bluffs (the future Memphis) and Bradbury was fast asleep when "a most tremendous noise" panicked the group. "All nature seemed running into chaos," he later wrote, "as wild fowl fled, trees snapped and river banks tumbled into the water." Bradbury recoreded twenty-seven shocks.
"Called the New Madrid Earthquake, largely because New Madrid (Missouri) was the closest settlement, the quake acturally began along the Saint Francis River in Arkansas some sixty-five miles southwest of New Madrid. Bradbury was closer to the epicenter than the residents of the town of New Madrid who were awakened by shaking houses and falling chimneys.
"After the first December rumbling, jolts continued. One Louisville observer recorded 1,874 separate quakes between December and March. During this time the epicenter moved closer to New Madrid, and on February 7 the residents deserted what once had bid fair to become the metropolis of the middle Mississippi River. The houses had fallen, and possibly even the land on which the town stood had sunk by March.
"Because so few persons were in the area of greatest damage and most of those who were there were illiterate, only a few firsthand account provide detailed information. Stories and legends grew apace, however, for the earthquake was felt all over North America, and reinforced the evangelical religious notion that the end of the world was at hand. Henry Schoolcraft, who took to poetry to record the quake wrote: "the rivers they boiled like a pot over coals, And mortals fell prostrate, and prayed for their souls."
"Actually, the 1811-1812 earthquake was merely a continuation in a series which included rumblings in 1699, 1776, 1779, 1792, 1795, and 1804. These predecessor quakes were quite possibly even stronger; and some of the changes later credited to the New Madrid Quake probably came earlier. In time, the quake was credited with causing the Mississippi River to flow backward, with creating the "Sunk Lands" in the Saint Francis River Valley, in raising Crowley's Ridge, and creating Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee.
"If another quake of the magnitude of the New Madrid Quake of 1811 should hit the region, it would be the worst natural disaster in American history. Especially vulnerable are buildings of brick and concrete. Almost all of downtown Memphis would fall. The highways and interstate systems would be shattered and bridges destroyed. Massive gas line ruptures would threaten life and property. If the Mississippi River were already near flood stage, the destruction of levees could result in the flooding of perhaps a quarter of the state (of Arkansas). Overall the loss of life could run into the hundreds of thousands.
"Despite its prominence as one of the great recorded natural events in American history, the New Madrid Earthquake had very little impact on the history of the region. Although minor tremors were felt off and on, and some timid folks, especially in the 1890's decided to move elsewhere, the earthquake remained irrelevant to life until Iben Browning, a business consultant with some scientific pretensions, announced that another quake was due on December 3, 1990.
"Despite numerous scientific attacks on Browning's methodology, the public became truly alarmed. Local communities took disaster relief seriously and sales of earthquake policies soared. Many residents stockpiled water, flashlight batteries, plastic bags, and toilet paper. Timid folk even left the state (of Arkansas). Days prior to the supposed event, every motel room near New Madrid was taken up by news persons ready to cover the projected disaster.
"December 3, 1990, passed with nary a tremor and the quake became the Great Non-Event of 1990. Nevertheless, the publicity did have a positive effect as few area residents could claim to be unaware of eastern Arkansas' natural heritage.
"(Reprinted by permission, Michael Bruce Dougan, _Arkansas Odyssey: The Saga of Arkansas from Prehistoric Times to Present_ (c) 1994 Rose Publishing Company, Inc., Little Rock, Arkansas."
On a personal note, my mother works for the State Health Department, and at the time of the December, 1990, prediction the State of Arkansas (government) took the prediction seriously enough to put the State Health Department on disaster alert, and everybody who had pickup trucks (including my mom) had assignments of what they would carry into the disaster area and which route they would follow--several routes had been mapped out, in case some were blocked off by the quake. As I remember, my mother's assignment was to carry blankets, bandaging, and sulfa drugs.

The New Madrid Earthquake
This actual eyewitness account of New Madrid Earthquake was submitted by Tracy Houpt.
The following letter was found in a book entitled, "Lorenzo Dow's Journal," Published By Joshua Martin, Printed By John B. Wolff, 1849, on pages 344 - 346.p
New Madrid, Territory of Missouri, March 22, 1816
Dear Sir,In compliance with your request, I will now give you a history, as full in detail as the limits of the letter will permit, of the late awful visitation of Providence in this place and vicinity.
On the 16th of December, 1811, about two o'clock, A.M., we were visited by a violent shock of an earthquake, accompanied by a very awful noise resembling loud but distant thunder, but more hoarse and vibrating, which was followed in a few minutes by the complete saturation of the atmosphere, with sulphurious vapor, causing total darkness. The screams of the affrighted inhabitants running to and fro, not knowing where to go, or what to do - the cries of the fowls and beasts of every species - the cracking of trees falling, and the roaring of the Mississippi - the current of which was retrogade for a few minutes, owing as is supposed, to an irruption in its bed -- formed a scene truly horrible.
From that time until about sunrise, a number of lighter shocks occurred; at which time one still more violent than the first took place, with the same accompaniments as the first, and the terror which had been excited in everyone, and indeed in all animal nature, was now, if possible doubled. The inhabitants fled in every direction to the country, supposing (if it can be admitted that their minds can be exercised at all) that there was less danger at a distance from, than near to the river. In one person, a female, the alarm was so great that she fainted, and could not be recovered.
There were several shocks of a day, but lighter than those already mentioned until the 23d of January, 1812, when one occurred as violent as the severest of the former ones, accompanied by the same phenomena as the former. From this time until the 4th of February the earth was in continual agitation, visibly waving as a gentle sea. On that day there was another shock, nearly as hard as the proceeding ones. Next day four such, and on the 7th about 4 o'clock A.M., a concussion took place so much more violent than those that had proceeded it, that it was dominated the hard shock. The awful darkness of the atmosphere, which was formerly saturated with sulphurious vapor, and the violence of the tempestuous thundering noise that accompanied it, together with all of the other phenomena mentioned as attending the former ones, formed a scene, the description of which would require the most sublimely fanciful imagination.
At first the Mississippi seemed to recede from its banks, and its waters gathering up like a mountain, leaving for the moment many boats, which were here on their way to New Orleans, on bare sand, in which time the poor sailors made their escape from them. It then rising fifteen to twenty feet perpendicularly, and expanding, as it were, at the same moment, the banks were overflowed with the retrogade current, rapid as a torrent - the boats which before had been left on the sand were now torn from their moorings, and suddenly driven up a little creek, at the mouth of which they laid, to the distance in some instances, of nearly a quarter of a mile. The river falling immediately, as rapid as it had risen, receded in its banks again with such violence, that it took with it whole groves of young cotton-wood trees, which ledged its borders. They were broken off which such regularity, in some instances, that persons who had not witnessed the fact, would be difficultly persuaded, that is has not been the work of art. A great many fish were left on the banks, being unable to keep pace with the water. The river was literally covered with the wrecks of boats, and 'tis said that one was wrecked in which there was a lady and six children, all of whom were lost.
In all the hard shocks mentioned, the earth was horribly torn to pieces - the surface of hundreds of acres, was, from time to time, covered over, in various depths, by the sand which issued from the fissures, which were made in great numbers all over this country, some of which closed up immediately after they had vomited forth their sand and water, which it must be remarked, was the matter generally thrown up. In some places, however, there was a substance somewhat resembling coal, or impure stone coal, thrown up with the sand. It is impossible to say what the depths of the fissures or irregular breaks were; we have reason to believe that some of them are very deep.
The site of this town was evidently settled down at least fifteen feet, and not more than a half a mile below the town there does not appear to be any alteration on the bank of the river, but back from the river a small distance, the numerous large ponds or lakes, as they are called, which covered a great part of the country were nearly dried up. The beds of some of them are elevated above their former banks several feet, producing an alteration of ten, fifteen to twenty feet, from their original state. And lately it has been discovered that a lake was formed on the opposite side of the Mississippi, in the Indian country, upwards of one hundred miles in length, and from one to six miles in width, of the depth of ten to fifty feet. It has communication with the river at both ends, and it is conjectured that it will not be many years before the principal part, if not the whole of the Mississippi, will pass that way.
We were constrained by the fear of our houses falling to live twelve or eighteen months, after the first shocks, in little light camps made of boards; but we gradually became callous, and returned to our houses again. Most of those who fled from the country in the time of the hard shocks have since returned home. We have, since the commencement in 1811, and still continue to feel, slight shocks occasionally. It is seldom indeed that we are more than a week without feeling one, and sometimes three of four in a day. There were two this winter past much harder than we had felt them for two years before; but since then they appear to be lighter than they have ever been, and we begin to hope that ere long they will entirely cease.
I have now, sir, finished my promised description of the earthquake - imperfect it is true, but just as it occurred to my memory; many of, and most of the truly awful scenes, having occurred three or four years ago. They of course are not related with that precision which would entitle it to the character of a full and accurate picture. But such as it is, it is given with pleasure - in the full confidence that it is given to a friend. And now, sir, wishing you all good, I must bid you adieu.
Your humble servant,Eliza Bryan
There is one circumstance which I think worthy of remark. This country was formerly subject to very hard thunder; but for more than twelve months before the commencement of the earthquake there was none at all, and but very little since, a great part of which resembles subterraneous thunder. The shocks still continue, but are growing more light, and less frequent. -E.B.

THE QUAKE OF 1812

2010-07-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Some of the most severe earthquakes in the United States occurred not on the Pacific Coast but in the middle of the continent in southeastern Missouri near the town of New Madrid. There are many things that were unusual about the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. First, their location is a surprise. There were centered at the southeast corner of Missouri far from the seismic active zones of the mountain chains on the edges of continents, which are the boundaries of techtonic plates. Second, their magnitudes were unusually high; in the range of 8.1-8.3. Third, the pattern was unusual in that there were three shocks of about the same magnitude separated by weeks in time. The table below gives the timings of the three major shocks. There were numerous aftershocks following each major shock.

The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812
Date Time of Day Magnitude

December 16, 1811 2 A.M. 8.2

January 23, 1812 8.1

February 7, 1812 3:15 A.M. 8.3

Several towns, including New Madrid, shown on the above map were destroyed by the quakes. In Little Prairie fifteen minutes after one aftershock on December 16th water rose to waist level and the towns people had to walk through this water eight miles to reach high ground. They went on another twenty six miles over a three day period seeking refuge in New Madrid only to find it had been destroyed.
In addition to these three major quakes there were inumerable minor ones, following and sometimes preceding the major ones. One careful observer noted an average of about forty per day over a three month month period. There was a notably strong quake on January 7 but it was not of a level 8 magnitude.
The magnitudes of the quakes were estimated from the descriptions of their effects.
Some of these effects were:

The perception of the shock, even the ringing of church bells, at great distances from the quake. The December 16th quake rang church bells in Pennsylvania and in South Carolina.
The February 7th quake was said to have been felt strong enough to rattle windows in Montreal, Quebec, over a thousand miles away.
The modification of the channel of the Mississippi River.
The rising of some sections of land, the falling of other sections.
Six foot falls were created in the Mississippi River. At some points there were reports that the Mississippi ran backwards.
The creation of new ten new lakes, the largest of which was Reelfoot Lake in northwestern Tennessee. In other places the land rose and lakes disappeared.
Some islands in the rivers disappeared.
Trees broke loudly from the violent shaking.
The rising of dead trees from river and lake bottoms.
The creation of crevasses in the earth as much as ten feet wide.
Sometimes the crevasses opened and then closed spurting water and sand into the air.
The creation of water spouts rising as high as fifteen feet into the air.
The liquification of ground and the subsequent sinking of structures.
The toppling of brickwork, particularly chimneys.
People being thrown out of their beds.
There were other things that occurred such as flashes of light, loud noises and smelly gases spreading over the land. Watery sand spouts were particularly wide spread.
The water was warm.
They left holes in the ground and sometimes sand cones where the sand came down.
Sometimes chunks of wood or coal as heavy as 20 pounds were blown out of these sand spouts. The map below shows the area in which sand spouts occurred.
Wild animals were disturbed by the quakes, seeming to lose their fear of humans.
Horses reacted to the quakes by stop moving or proceding as if they were walking on ice.
The major puzzle concerning the New Madrid earthquakes is why they occurred in midcontinent.
The answer seems to be that a break in the North American plate was developing along the route of what became the Mississippi Valley.
A rift valley was developing but the fissure ended in the region of New Madrid.

STRONGEST WORLD EARTHQUAKES

2010-07-26T18:58:00.000-07:00

1960 05 22 - Chile - M 9.5
1964 03 28 - Prince William Sound, Alaska - M 9.2
2004 12 26 - Sumatra-Andaman Islands - M 9.1
1952 11 04 - Kamchatka - M 9.0
1868 08 13 - Arica, Peru (now Chile) - M 9.0
1700 01 26 - Cascadia Subduction Zone - M 9.0

CHILEAN EARTHQUAKES

2010-07-26T18:23:00.000-07:00

Chile
1730 07 08 - Valparasio, Chile - M 8.7
1835 02 20 - Concepcion, Chile - M 8.2 Fatalities 500
1868 08 13 - Arica, Peru (now Chile) - M 9.0 Fatalities 25,000
1877 05 10 - Offshore Tarapaca, Chile - M 8.3 Fatalities 34
1906 08 17 - Valparaiso, Chile - M 8.2 Fatalities 3,882
1922 11 11 - Chile-Argentina Border - M 8.5
1928 12 01 - Talca, Chile - M 7.6 Fatalities 225
1939 01 25 - Chillan, Chile - M 7.8 Fatalities 28,000
1943 04 06 - Illapel - Salamanca, Chile - M 8.2 Fatalities 25
1960 05 21 - Arauco Peninsula, Chile - M 7.9
1960 05 22 - Chile - M 9.5 Fatalities 1,655
1965 02 23 - Taltal, Chile - M 7.0 Fatalities 1
1965 03 28 - La Ligua, Chile - M 7.4 Fatalities 400
1971 07 09 - Valparaiso region, Chile - M 7.5 Fatalities 90
1985 03 03 - offshore Valparaiso, Chile - M 7.8 Fatalities 177
1998 01 30 - Near Coast of Northern Chile - M 7.1
2002 06 18 - Chile-Argentina Border Region - M 6.6
2003 06 20 - Near the Coast of Central Chile - M 6.8
2004 05 03 - Bio-Bio, Chile - M 6.6
2005 06 13 - Tarapaca, Chile - M 7.8 Fatalities 11
2007 11 14 - Antofagasta, Chile - M 7.7 Fatalities 2
2007 12 16 - Antofagasta, Chile - M 6.7
2008 02 04 - Tarapaca, Chile - M 6.3
2009 11 13 - Offshore Tarapaca, Chile - M 6.5
2010 02 27 - Offshore Bio-Bio, Chile - M 8.8 Fatalities 577

ON JANUARY 26, 1700 AT 9 PM

2010-07-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

The M9 Cascadia Megathrust Earthquake of January 26, 1700

At 9PM on January 26, 1700 one of the world's largest earthquakes occurred along the west coast of North America.
The undersea Cascadia thrust fault ruptured along a 1000 km length, from mid Vancouver Island to northern California in a great earthquake, producing tremendous shaking and a huge tsunami that swept across the Pacific.
The Cascadia fault is the boundary between two of the Earth's tectonic plates: the smaller offshore Juan de Fuca plate that is sliding under the much larger North American plate.
The earthquake shaking collapsed houses of the Cowichan people on Vancouver Island and caused numerous landslides.
The shaking was so violent that people could not stand and so prolonged that it made them sick. On the west coast of Vancouver Island, the tsunami completely destroyed the winter village of the Pachena Bay people with no survivors.
These events are recorded in the oral traditions of the First Nations people on Vancouver Island. The tsunami swept across the Pacific also causing destruction along the Pacific coast of Japan.
It is the accurate descriptions of the tsunami and the accurate time keeping by the Japanese that allows us to confidently know the size and exact time of this great earthquake. The earthquake also left unmistakeable signatures in the geological record as the outer coastal regions subsided and drowned coastal marshlands and forests that were subsequently covered with younger sediments.
The recognition of definitive signatures in the geological record tells us the January 26, 1700 event was not a unique event, but has repeated many times at irregular intervals of hundreds of years.
Geological evidence indicates that 13 great earthquakes have occurred in the last 6000 years. We now know that a similar offshore event will happen sometime in the future and that it represents a considerable hazard to those who live in southwest B.C. However, because the fault is offshore, it is not the greatest earthquake hazard faced by major west coast cities.
In the interval between great earthquakes, the tectonic plates become stuck together, yet continue to move towards each other. This causes tremendous strain and deformation of the Earth's crust in the coastal region and causes ongoing earthquake activity.
This is the situation that we are in now. Some onshore earthquakes can be quite large (there have been four magnitude 7+ earthquakes in the past 130 years in southwest B.C. and northern Washington State).
Because these inland earthquakes can be much closer to our urban areas and occur more frequently, they represent the greatest earthquake hazard.
An inland magnitude 6.9 earthquake in 1995 in a similar geological setting beneath Kobe, Japan caused in excess of $200 billion damage.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SEATBELT ADD EVER

2010-07-16T07:04:00.000-07:00

SINK HOLE SWALLOWS 3 STORY BUILDING

2010-06-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Luis Echeverria / AP
A massive sinkhole covers a street intersection in downtown Guatemala City. Officials blamed the heavy rains for the crater, which swallowed a three-story building. Last April 2007, another giant sinkhole in the same area killed 3 people.

EYJAFJALLAJOKULL VOLCANO ERUPTS

2010-04-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

MordorLightning streaks across the sky as lava flows from the volcano on Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier.

Hvolsvollur, Iceland
Details:
We (a group of three people from New Mexico Tech), are currently in Iceland to deploy a six-station lightning mapping array near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. On the evening of April 16 there were some small eruptions producing ash clouds up to about 6-7 km, with lightning. The sky was nice and clear. Photographed near the town of Hvolsvollur with Nikon D700 and 80-200/2.8 lens.

MOURNING IN POLAND

2010-04-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

Girl scouts attend to the candles

A boy scout attends to the millions of candles lit mourning the death of Poland's President, his wife and several goverment oficials in a plane crash in Russia.

RIO DE JANEIRO, MAS DE 225 VICTIMAS

2010-04-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Las autoridades explicaron que hoy fueron recuperados dos cadáveres más en el Morro de Bumba, donde se teme que pueda haber sepultadas otras 150 personas.
EFE
Domingo 11 de Abril de 2010 12:54

RÍO DE JANEIRO.- La labor de rescate en los cerros que se desplomaron por las lluvias en el estado brasileño de Río de Janeiro se ha ido haciendo cada vez más difícil conforme se llega a estratos más profundos en la tierra desplazada, mientras el balance oficial de muertos subió a 225, informaron hoy fuentes oficiales.
Las autoridades explicaron que durante la mañana de hoy fueron recuperados dos cadáveres más en el Morro de Bumba, un cerro de Niteroi, ciudad vecina a la ciudad de Río de Janeiro donde se teme que pueda haber sepultadas otras 150 personas.
La tarea de los socorristas, que han retirado de ese lugar 34 cuerpos, se dificulta porque ya han sido rastreadas las capas más superficiales del deslizamiento y ahora será necesario llegar hasta una profundidad mayor, en medio de las toneladas de lodo, piedras y basura que fueron desplazadas por las lluvias.
El barrio que estaba situado en el Morro de Bumba, que tenía unas cincuenta viviendas, una iglesia, un jardín de infantes y varios comercios, había sido construido hace unos treinta años sobre un antiguo vertedero de basura, con lo que el terreno estaba debilitado y su capacidad para absorber el agua de lluvia reducida.
La mayor parte de las labores de rescate se concentra desde el pasado viernes en ese lugar, pero continuaban hoy en otros cerros de Río de Janeiro, Sao Gonzalo, Petrópolis, Nilópolis, Magé y Paracambi, que fueron las localidades más afectadas por el temporal que comenzó la tarde del pasado lunes.
El gobernador de Río de Janeiro, Sergio Cabral, confirmó que mañana comenzará la evacuación de cientos de familias que aún están en áreas consideradas "de riesgo", en las que se teme que pueda haber nuevos desmoronamientos.
Aunque muchas de esas familias se niegan a abandonar sus casas, las autoridades afirmaron que, si es necesario, serán obligadas, pues existe un "peligro real" de que haya otros corrimientos de tierra en caso de que haya nuevas lluvias, como los meteorólogos prevén para la semana próxima.
Según los cálculos oficiales, el número de damnificados en todo el estado de Río de Janeiro por causa de las lluvias llega a unos 50.000, que han sido alojados en forma provisional en albergues municipales y gimnasios.

COMET CRASHES INTO OUR SUN

2010-04-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

SUNGRAZING COMET:

Today, the sun had a comet for breakfast.

The icy visitor from the outer solar system appeared with no warning on April 9th and plunged into the sun during the early hours of April 10th.

One comet went in, none came out.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) had a good view of the encounter:

The comet was probably a member of the Kreutz sungrazer family.

Named after a 19th century German astronomer who studied them in detail, Kreutz sungrazers are fragments from the breakup of a giant comet at least 2000 years ago.

Several of these fragments pass by the sun and disintegrate every day.

Most are too small to see but occasionally a big fragment like today's attracts attention.
This has been an active year for big, bright sungrazers.

There was one on Jan. 4th, one on March 12th, and now one today.

Normally we see no more than 3 or 4 bright ones in a whole year; now we're seeing them almost once a month. It could be a statistical fluctuation or, maybe, a swarm of Kreutz fragments is nearing perihelion (closest approach to the sun).

Stay tuned for doomed comets!