Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
MORE EARTHQUAKES!
The news article below:
40 mostly small earthquakes tickle Jackson Hole:
Roughly 40 small to moderate earthquakes have rumbled across Jackson Hole from their epicenter in the Gros Ventre Mountains since the first shook the region Wednesday evening.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at least four earthquakes greater than magnitude 3.0, and as of Thursday afternoon, 588 people in 36 ZIP codes reported feeling the earthquakes at the Earthquake.usgs.gov “Did you feel it?” website.
The largest quake, which shook Jackson at 6:04 p.m. Wednesday, was preceded by a small foreshock a few seconds earlier, said University of Utah geophysicist Bob Smith. Researchers say that earthquake was a magnitude 5.0 or greater, which is considered a moderate quake. Most of the 40 or so that followed were magnitude 1 or 2.
Smith said the 40 earthquakes are not considered a swarm, like the earthquake swarms of hundreds of small quakes that sometimes shake Yellowstone National Park. He called these a sequence.
“This area of Jackson Hole has had persistent seismicity for decades,” he said.
Smith said the fault lines in the area are quite old, dating back 60 million to 80 million years, and are the result of stress related to movement in the Basin Range area, not the Teton Fault.
“As we get into this area, there’s not big normal faults,” he said. “My speculation is that the crust is highly fractured in the area. There are probably pre-existing fractures in the area that are being overloaded by the activity.”
The recent activity mirrors almost exactly a magnitude 4.8 quake at the same location that occurred in Jan. 7, 2004, said Harley Benz, scientist in charge of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.
“The style of faulting is identical,” he said, adding that earthquakes in the Gros Ventres are not uncommon.
The earthquake likely occurred eight to nine kilometers (about five miles) beneath the surface of the earth, Benz said.
At the Red Rock Ranch, in the Gros Ventre area near the epicenter of the quake, “we had stuff falling off shelves,” said Addie Hare, ranch co-manager. “Wine glasses and bottles were falling and breaking. Pictures were falling off the walls. Our bar area was a mess.”
“It was loud,” Hare said. “It was a definite rumbling that got louder as it got closer. The whole building shook. There were dust plumes from where rocks had rolled off mountains surrounding us.”
The quake even spooked some of the ranch animals.
“The horses were running differently, and my dog was definitely spooked,” Hare said. “She did not want to leave my side.”
About 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Hare reported feeling another temblor as she hiked west of the Crystal Valley.
“Within two seconds we heard crashing boulders either falling behind us or the other side of the valley,” she said.
In Jackson, Victor, Idaho, resident DayDay Montesclaros felt two of the earthquakes, one Wednesday evening and one Thursday morning.
“I was pumping gas [about 6 p.m. Wednesday night], and the earth started to move,” she said. “I saw the pump shake, then I turned ... and my car was shaking.”
The following morning, Montesclaros felt another earthquake at her desk at Snow King Resort.
“It didn’t feel as bad as the first,” she said.
While the earthquakes don’t pose an immediate threat, it’s a good reminder to area residents, Benz said.
“Any moderate earthquake has a very small probability of being a foreshock to a larger one,” he said. “If you just look at the Tetons, they were formed by large earthquakes. [You] are living in the seismically active western U.S.”
Smith called the event a “wake-up call.”
“I think what people need to recognize is that Jackson Hole is earthquake country,” Smith said. “We need to be prepared.”
“One of these days, we’re going to have one on the Teton Fault ... [that] is going to be thousands of times larger,” he said.
Teton County Emergency Management reported no serious damage or injuries from the quake.
“Most of the calls into the dispatch center were from people who just wanted to know, ‘Was that an earthquake?’ Teton County Sheriff’s Office communication center manager Alyssa Watkins said in a statement.
The best thing people can do is be prepared, said Rich Ochs, interim emergency management coordinator. In a statement, Ochs suggested putting together a 72-hour kit that contains survival supplies for a person and his or her family to last at least three days. Ochs also recommended that people formulate their own family disaster plan and be informed about the types of disasters that can affect Teton County.
40 mostly small earthquakes tickle Jackson Hole:
Roughly 40 small to moderate earthquakes have rumbled across Jackson Hole from their epicenter in the Gros Ventre Mountains since the first shook the region Wednesday evening.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at least four earthquakes greater than magnitude 3.0, and as of Thursday afternoon, 588 people in 36 ZIP codes reported feeling the earthquakes at the Earthquake.usgs.gov “Did you feel it?” website.
The largest quake, which shook Jackson at 6:04 p.m. Wednesday, was preceded by a small foreshock a few seconds earlier, said University of Utah geophysicist Bob Smith. Researchers say that earthquake was a magnitude 5.0 or greater, which is considered a moderate quake. Most of the 40 or so that followed were magnitude 1 or 2.
Smith said the 40 earthquakes are not considered a swarm, like the earthquake swarms of hundreds of small quakes that sometimes shake Yellowstone National Park. He called these a sequence.
“This area of Jackson Hole has had persistent seismicity for decades,” he said.
Smith said the fault lines in the area are quite old, dating back 60 million to 80 million years, and are the result of stress related to movement in the Basin Range area, not the Teton Fault.
“As we get into this area, there’s not big normal faults,” he said. “My speculation is that the crust is highly fractured in the area. There are probably pre-existing fractures in the area that are being overloaded by the activity.”
The recent activity mirrors almost exactly a magnitude 4.8 quake at the same location that occurred in Jan. 7, 2004, said Harley Benz, scientist in charge of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.
“The style of faulting is identical,” he said, adding that earthquakes in the Gros Ventres are not uncommon.
The earthquake likely occurred eight to nine kilometers (about five miles) beneath the surface of the earth, Benz said.
At the Red Rock Ranch, in the Gros Ventre area near the epicenter of the quake, “we had stuff falling off shelves,” said Addie Hare, ranch co-manager. “Wine glasses and bottles were falling and breaking. Pictures were falling off the walls. Our bar area was a mess.”
“It was loud,” Hare said. “It was a definite rumbling that got louder as it got closer. The whole building shook. There were dust plumes from where rocks had rolled off mountains surrounding us.”
The quake even spooked some of the ranch animals.
“The horses were running differently, and my dog was definitely spooked,” Hare said. “She did not want to leave my side.”
About 9 a.m. Thursday morning, Hare reported feeling another temblor as she hiked west of the Crystal Valley.
“Within two seconds we heard crashing boulders either falling behind us or the other side of the valley,” she said.
In Jackson, Victor, Idaho, resident DayDay Montesclaros felt two of the earthquakes, one Wednesday evening and one Thursday morning.
“I was pumping gas [about 6 p.m. Wednesday night], and the earth started to move,” she said. “I saw the pump shake, then I turned ... and my car was shaking.”
The following morning, Montesclaros felt another earthquake at her desk at Snow King Resort.
“It didn’t feel as bad as the first,” she said.
While the earthquakes don’t pose an immediate threat, it’s a good reminder to area residents, Benz said.
“Any moderate earthquake has a very small probability of being a foreshock to a larger one,” he said. “If you just look at the Tetons, they were formed by large earthquakes. [You] are living in the seismically active western U.S.”
Smith called the event a “wake-up call.”
“I think what people need to recognize is that Jackson Hole is earthquake country,” Smith said. “We need to be prepared.”
“One of these days, we’re going to have one on the Teton Fault ... [that] is going to be thousands of times larger,” he said.
Teton County Emergency Management reported no serious damage or injuries from the quake.
“Most of the calls into the dispatch center were from people who just wanted to know, ‘Was that an earthquake?’ Teton County Sheriff’s Office communication center manager Alyssa Watkins said in a statement.
The best thing people can do is be prepared, said Rich Ochs, interim emergency management coordinator. In a statement, Ochs suggested putting together a 72-hour kit that contains survival supplies for a person and his or her family to last at least three days. Ochs also recommended that people formulate their own family disaster plan and be informed about the types of disasters that can affect Teton County.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Earthquake!
I "cut & pasted" the article below from a local news website.
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A moderate earthquake rattled parts of northwest Wyoming Wednesday, but there were no reports of damage or injury.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-4.8 temblor struck shortly after 6 p.m. Mountain Time Wednesday. Its epicenter was about 25 miles east-northeast of Jackson and about 30 miles east of Teton Village.
There were no reports of damage or injuries, said Rich Ochs, interim coordinator for Teton County Emergency Management.
Pete Jorgensen said he felt the quake near the town of Kelly, about 20 miles north of Jackson. The side-to-side movement lasted perhaps 2 seconds, but wasn't violent, he said.
At Flat Creek Ranch, people saw rocks roll off the top of Sleeping Indian, also known as Sheep Mountain, ranch owner Joe Albright said. Guests had been entertained at lunch by a member of Geologists of Jackson Hole, who talked about earthquakes, Albright said.
"A few hours later, here this damn thing comes," he added.
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A moderate earthquake rattled parts of northwest Wyoming Wednesday, but there were no reports of damage or injury.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-4.8 temblor struck shortly after 6 p.m. Mountain Time Wednesday. Its epicenter was about 25 miles east-northeast of Jackson and about 30 miles east of Teton Village.
There were no reports of damage or injuries, said Rich Ochs, interim coordinator for Teton County Emergency Management.
Pete Jorgensen said he felt the quake near the town of Kelly, about 20 miles north of Jackson. The side-to-side movement lasted perhaps 2 seconds, but wasn't violent, he said.
At Flat Creek Ranch, people saw rocks roll off the top of Sleeping Indian, also known as Sheep Mountain, ranch owner Joe Albright said. Guests had been entertained at lunch by a member of Geologists of Jackson Hole, who talked about earthquakes, Albright said.
"A few hours later, here this damn thing comes," he added.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
More Franti
Michael Franti in the crowd. I apologize for the shaky video but it's impossible not to dance when he's playing.
Targheefest 2010
Michael Franti and Spearhead put on one of the best concerts I have ever been to. The positive vibes from the bands music and energy from the crowd can't be described in words. Franti and his band came off of the stage and wondered through the crowd while playing their songs. This was a VERY cool experience to be standing right in front of him while they jammed. I really feel like a groupie after looking at my pictures...Over and over, again.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Let there be summer
Yesterday was my first REAL hike of the summer. FINALLY! It was green, beautiful, muddy, and then we hit snow at 8500 feet. Melt already! I've got some backpacking to do!
Morels
After spending 3 days in a row coming up empty handed, I was ready to give up on looking for morel mushrooms. This morning I went one last time and I hit the jackpot--only two blocks from my house! I found 2 lbs of these babies! Now, I have to figure out which way to preserve them (freeze em' or dry em' out), and what recipe to follow to cook the ones I'm going to eat soon!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Cave Falls
This beautiful waterfall is down the road from the Forest Service cabin that I lived in 2 years ago. It's hard to believe that I made my road trip out west, this week, 2 years ago. The entire reason I made my decision to stay out west was because of the beautiful summers. I don't mind the long winters as I've been snow deprived my entire life and I really love snow sports, but the summers here are absolutely awe inspiring.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Summer Snowboarding
Yep. We are still getting snow and it's almost June. We've had many 60 degree sunny and rainy days. However, up high we are still getting a lot of new snow. I wish it would all melt to I can go backpacking and hiking, but that isn't reality right now. SO, I might as well throw on my backpack, grab my snowboard and go hiking. Here are pics from today.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
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