West Earthquake Camping in Nevada- Rockdocking

[Ray Eklund]

Yes. Earthquakes in Nevada.

Last year while camping SW of Pioche, Nevada we had an AS experience, possibly never to be repeated in our lifetimes. We were camped about 50 miles from Pioche, Nevada collecting Cambrian fossils. It was about 3AM in the morning. The wind was still and beautiful weather.

A rumble from the south became louder, the trailer shook, and the rumble proceeded north and disappeared as fast as it arrived to the north. The shaking of the trailer was as if someone stood on the rear bumper and jumped off. The closest comparison I can make is a sonic boom moving over you, but not as loud... below you. This might be a 2 or 3 on the scale.

I have experience being in mild shakers in Missouri (1969) and the Canal Zone (1960), so when you experience an earthquake, you do not forget. Those of you in earthquake prone areas probably have your own stories, which would be interesting to hear. Yahoo... this is Rockdocking at its best.

[Ray Eklund]

We were AStream camping in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico when hearing about the earthquake and numerous aftershocks in Nevada at the end of April...

Did anyone experience this Nevada earthquake? We also missed the one in the St. Louis, Missouri area... thank goodness. Missouri has the New Madrid fault that was said to have been the most powerful earthquake in the USA around 1803 when it let loose.

When an earthquake occurs, there is no schedule or appointment, which makes it a rarity- when east of California I must add. Our home in Colorado is on the Front Range of the Rockies with an "inactive" fault from Cheyenne, Wyoming to New Mexico. Inactive... but, non the less, still a deep crack in the crust that could adjust some day. It is not if... but when. A mild shaker is a good reminder to all of us that there are some natural events that cannot be predicted. I think I could handle an occasional earthquake than the extreme storms coming out of the Great Plains, any day. I am just not that brave to be camping in the tornado alley in Spring...

[janetb]

I agree Ray. For some reason earthquakes seem so much more "manageable" than tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons. Kind of like a jarring burp as opposed to an explosive-um- "gaseous emission."

We live about one mile from the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a 6.9 that devastated much of the county. Our home was spared (yay for the contractor husband and his love of rebar...) with just a few dry-wall cracks and lots of shattered nerves and frightened children.
If I ever experience another "big one" I hope we're in the Airstream! It seems to know how to rock and roll--and deal with unexpected shudders and shocks.

[Boondocker]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

We also missed the one in the St. Louis, Missouri area... thank goodness. Missouri has the New Madrid fault that was said to have been the most powerful earthquake in the USA around 1803 when it let loose.

When the New Madrid let go during a series of quakes over the winter of 1812-13 (if memory serves) the Mississippi reversed course for a week, formed Reelfoot lake and rang church bells on the east coast. The official guess is when she lets go again (practically certain the next 50 years) the magnitude will be of a similar level.

The recent quakes were from a different fault system, the Wabash. It used to let go every now and then when I was growing up. The recent vibrations were centered about 10 miles from our family farm where I was raised.

[Ray Eklund]

Rodney and Janet: What a quick response.

Rodney, you forced me off my loins to pull out one of my books to get some accurate dates for the New Madrid, Missouri earthquake region (Investigations of the New Madrid, Missouri Earthquake Region- US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1236 by F. A. McKeown and L. C. Pakiser, 1982). This is a collection of studies making 201 pages of technical and interesting reading...

A sequence of earthquakes were experienced in 1811-1812 in southeastern Missouri along the Mississippi River. Another book was printed that predicted a similar powerful earthquake for 1990. The New Madrid would have been felt as far west as eastern Colorado to Vermont in the east.

When we are camping in the Rockies or Sierras now, you cannot imagine how lucky we are to be missing these earthquakes forming the Rockies and Basin and Range topography by as many as 65,000,000 years... and Rodney, do not hold me to that one for missing it by a million years or so for my end of the Rockies. The west coast is still cooking, smoking and moving... just look at those volcanoes! Even Mount Everest is getting taller with India moving into the Himalayan ranges! Sea shells on the top of mountains, who could ever guess that was going to happen.

When any of us hook up that trailer, tent camper or tent tossed into the trunk, there is so much to see away from the light of any city or town. It is unfortunate that High School science classes were avoided by so many students. There is so much to explore and understanding what happened just at our campsite... On the brighter side. Many of the gold and silver deposits of the west were emplaced during the same time, so there were some benefits after the dinosaurs took the beating of Cretaceous geology!

To add. After an earthquake my parents screwed furniture on to the walls and secured hanging frames in a similar manner. When you see a china cabinet walking across the room, tossing plates and cups, it is time to make some changes! They did and I will never forget that one...

[Boondocker]

Our reckoning of time is fairly silly when you look at geological time, so a few (or few thousand) years on this topic doesn't amount to much. I agree completely that it is a shame that people avoid learning a bit about science. I can't help but feel that people with no understanding of natural science have impoverished experiences when they travel. To travel the west and not know something about how things came to be reduces everything to pretty scenery, how very, very sad.

[Fyrzowt]

I have had one experience with a quake in the A/S, and multiple quakes otherwise.

A few years ago we were camping in the northern Sierra Nevada mountains, near Placerville, CA and felt a quake during the night. Nothing significant to report.

I went through the Northridge quake in SoCal in Jan '94. We were visiting my sister in Long Beach and got rolled out of bed at around 0530 IIRC. We were due to head home that morning, it was strange to drive the LA freeways with no traffic at all, and to see all the damage to bridges, appartment buildings, etc.

Our local major event was a 6.5 in Dec 2003, causing two fatalities, major damage to buildings, bridges, houses, etc. I happened to be on duty at the fire station and had a busy shift needless to say.

Living in California, I have felt countless aftershocks from our local quake, as well as other quakes.
With all of that, I'd rather have quakes than tornados and hurricanes. My family members in Texas think I'm crazy (they may be on to something), I suppose it's all in what you get used to.

An A/S does seem like a good spot to ride a quake out.

Dave

[Frank's Trailer Works]

The one and only earthquake I have experienced was on the 23rd floor of a hotel in Mexico city. It lasted long enough for me to think about how high up we were and how defenseless we were. Watching the building being built next to the hotel offered no assurance either. There were men hand mixing concrete in the street and carrying it in buckets up to the tenth floor. no powered equipment, just hundreds of men with buckets.

[Silvertwinkie]

Been there, done that.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ake-41416.html

[bigern]

We live about 2 miles from the epicenters of the Reno quakes, so yeah, we've been feeling them. They're really shallow (1-2 km deep), so the 4.7 felt much bigger than other quakes I've been in. The worst thing we lost is an antique vase from my wife's grandmother. They seem to be slowing down a lot now, but we still have our kitchen cupboards tied shut and all glass off of the shelves in the pantry. I have to say that having an Airstream in my driveway gave me a little peace of mind through the whole thing. It is now stocked for either the big one or our next trip. I would rather have the big quake followed by small aftershocks than this sequence, which gradually built in frequency and intensity for a while. It was pretty nerve racking.