September 11, 2005

A southern bulge

It seems that Magma is on the move down in Oregon. Yahoo/Reuters has the story:
Scientists find growing land bulge in Oregon
A large, slow-growing volcanic bulge in Eastern Oregon is attracting the attention of seismologists who say that the rising ground could be the beginnings of a volcano or simply magma shifting underground.

Scientists said that the 100 square-mile (260 sq-km) bulge, first discovered by satellite, poses no immediate threat to nearby residents.

"It is perfectly safe for anyone over there," said Michael Lisowski, geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington.

The bulge is rising at a rate of about 1.4 inches per year, according to a report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The bulge is located in a sparsely populated area 3 miles southwest of South Sister, a mountain 25 miles west of Bend, Oregon.
This will be interesting to watch over the next few years. Some volcanoes blow up spectacularly (Mount St. Helens), others quietly spring to life and grow and grow (Popocatépetl). And of course, let's not forget about Yellowstone Park - the focus of much pseudo-science and media hype. Posted by DaveH at September 11, 2005 1:15 PM
Comments

A guy on /. wrote something like, "Is that magma, or is Oregon just happy to see me?"

;^)

Posted by: Don McArthur at September 11, 2005 2:34 PM
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