Skeptophilia

Three years ago, I wrote here at Skeptophilia  about the scary Cascadia Subduction Zone , which is capable of enormous earthquakes and tsuna...

In 923 C.E., a massive earthquake -- estimated at magnitude 7.5 -- struck the Pacific Northwest. Marine terraces  -- stairstep-like formatio...

Like many people my age, I recall vividly when Carl Sagan's series Cosmos  first aired.  I was in my late teens, and I and my friends ea...

Ever heard of the " Bonneville Slide ?" It sounds like some obscure country line dance, but the real story is more interesting, an...

Between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812, a series of four earthquakes -- each estimated to be above magnitude 7, with the first and l...

The universe is a dangerous place. Much of what we've created -- the whole superstructure of civilized life, really -- is built to give ...

Sometimes, you can mislead people not only by what you say, but by what you leave out. Take, for example, the " Moodus noises ," t...

When most people think of seismically-active regions, Bangladesh is not ordinarily near the top of the list. Cyclones, sure.  They come roar...

A little less than six years apart -- on 1 November 1755 and 31 March 1761 -- two major earthquakes struck the country of Portugal, each t...

Between December 16, 1811 and February 7, 1812, a series of four earthquakes -- each estimated to be above magnitude 7 -- hit what you might...