A swarm that has now reached over 3,500 small earthquakes
began last weekend
off the Oregon coast, but officials insist that they do not
pose any tsunami threat, even though part of the affected
ocean floor is similar to the area in the Indian Ocean area
that produced the magnitude 9 quake that caused last
December's huge tsunami in southeast Asia. The small quakes
off the Oregon coast range from a magnitude of 2 to 4.
NOAA scientists think the quakes are caused by an underwater
volcano which is about to erupt. A NOAA team plans to dive
down to investigate and snap photos of the lava welling up
from the seafloor, where the Juan de Fuca plate is located.
This has been called a "tectonic time bomb," because it is
capable of producing earthquakes and tsunamis that could
equal the disaster in Indonesia, although scientists don't
expect that to happen as a result of these small quakes.
Our story was provided to us by our reporter in Seattle, but
we have received numerous requests for more information
about this story. To read another news story about this, click
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Art credit: http://www.freeimages.co.uk
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