Ring of Fire: an Encyclopedia of the Pacific Rim's Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes: An Encyclopedia of the Pacific Rim's Earthquakes, Tsunamis, and Volcanoes

The author examines natural disasters around the Pacific Rim throughout history together with scientific data context to produce enlightening—and highly readable—entries. On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off Japan's coast, triggering a powerful tsunami. The massive destruction that resulted proved that not even sophisticated, industrialized nations are immune from nature's fury. Written to take some of the mystery out of the earth's behavior, this encyclopedia chronicles major natural disasters that have occurred around the Pacific Rim, an area nicknamed the "Ring of Fire" because of the volatile earth that lies above and below. The encyclopedia offers descriptions of deadly earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis through time. The entries provide in-depth information that promotes an understanding of the structure of the earth and earth processes and shares the insights of scientists whose work helps clarify the causes and effects of these cataclysmic events. At the same time, the work examines how the people and cultures of the Pacific Rim view this active part of the earth, how they live with the threat of disaster, and how they have been affected by major events that have occurred. Readers will come away with a holistic view of what is known, how this knowledge was gained, and what its implications may be. Features approximately 100 alphabetically arranged entries with insights into specific disasters, technology, key geographic features of the area, significant people, cultural beliefs, and more Includes a general introduction and overview of the geography and tectonic activity in the Pacific Rim countries Offers both historical and scientific information Explains complex natural phenomena and scientific concepts using nontechnical language and clear illustrations Provides relevant cross-references to related topics as well as to articles, books, and websites that offer further information Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Entries 8 List of Entries by Earthquake, Tsunami, and Volcano 12 Preface 16 Introduction 18 Timeline of Disasters in the Pacific Rim Region in the Modern Era 22 The Encyclopedia 28 A 28 Aa 28 Aleutian Islands 29 Anchorage Earthquake (also known as the Prince William Sound Earthquake), Alaska, United States (1964) 30 Andesite 36 Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica 38 Arica Earthquake and Tsunami, Chile (1868) 39 Augustine Volcano, Alaska, United States 42 Australian Plate 45 B 48 Ballard, Dr. Robert D. 48 Basalt 50 C 54 Caldera 54 Canada 57 Caribbean Plate 58 Cascadia Subduction Zone 60 Chaitén Volcano, Chile 63 Chile 67 Chilean Earthquake and Tsunami (1960) 69 Chimbote Earthquake, Peru (1970) 70 Cinder Cone 73 Cleveland Volcano, Alaska, United States 75 Cocos Plate 76 Colima Volcano, Mexico 77 Collision Zone 78 Colombia 80 Composite Volcano 81 Concepción Earthquake, Chile (1835) 82 Costa Rica 83 Crater 84 Crater Lake, Oregon, United States 85 D 90 Dacite 90 Dike 91 Divergent Boundary 92 E 96 Earth Structure 96 Earthquake 99 Earthquake Hazards 101 Earthquake Magnitude 105 Earthquake Prediction 107 Ecuador 109 El Chichón Volcano, Mexico 112 El Salvador 114 Elastic Rebound Theory 115 Eurasian Plate 116 Ewing, William Maurice 117 Extrusive 119 F 122 Farallon Plate 122 Fiji 123 G 126 Galapagos Islands 126 Galeras Volcano, Colombia (1993) 128 Geodesy 130 GeoNet 133 Great Kanto Earthquake, Japan (1923) 133 Guagua Pichincha, Ecuador 135 Guatemala 136 Guatemala Earthquake (1976) 138 Gutenberg, Beno 139 H 142 Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii, United States 142 Hawaiian Islands 144 Hawaiian Volcano Observatory 146 Hazard and Risk 150 Hess, Harry 151 Hood, Mount, Oregon, United States 152 Hot Spot 154 Hualalai, Hawaii, United States 155 Hydrothermal Vent 156 I 158 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (2004) 158 Indonesia 161 Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, New Zealand 163 Intrusive 164 J 166 Jaggar, Jr., Thomas Augustus 166 Japan 171 Japan Meteorological Agency 173 Jiji Earthquake, Taiwan (1999) 174 Juan de Fuca Plate 176 K 180 Kalapana Earthquake, Hawaii, United States (1975) 180 Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team 183 Katmai Eruption, Alaska, United States (1912) 183 Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, United States 186 Kobe Earthquake, Japan (1995) 190 Krafft, Katja (Katia), and Krafft, Maurice 191 Krakatau Eruption (also known as “Krakatoa” Eruption), Indonesia (1883) 193 L 202 Lahar 202 Lamington, Mount, Eruption, Papua New Guinea (1951) 203 Lassen Peak, California, United States 204 Lava Dome 206 Lava Tube 207 Lehmann, Inge 209 Loma Prieta Earthquake, California, United States (1989) 211 M 214 Magma 214 Mariana Islands 216 Mariana Trench 217 Maui, Legend of 218 Mauna Kea, Hawaii, United States 220 Mauna Loa, Hawaii, United States 222 Megatsunami 224 Mexico 225 Mexico City Earthquake, Mexico (1985) 227 Mitigation 228 Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale 229 N 234 National Center for Prevention of Disasters 234 Nazca Plate 234 Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia 236 New Zealand 243 New Zealand Earthquake (2011) 244 Nicaragua 246 North American Plate 247 Northridge Earthquake, California, United States (1994) 249 O 252 Okushiri Island Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan (1993) 252 Orphan Tsunami 253 P 256 Pacific Plate 256 Pahoehoe 257 Papua New Guinea 258 Papua New Guinea Earthquake and Tsunami (1998) 259 Parícutin Volcano, Mexico 261 Pavlof Volcano, Alaska, United States 265 Pele, Legend of 266 Perret, Frank 269 Peru 271 Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology 272 Philippine Plate 274 Philippines 275 Phreatic Eruption 277 Pinatubo, Mount, Eruption, Philippines (1991) 278 Pisco Earthquake (2007) 282 Plate Tectonics 284 Pliny the Elder 290 Poás Volcano, Costa Rica 292 Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico 294 Pyroclastic Flow 296 Pyroclastic Materials 298 R 302 Rabaul, Papua New Guinea 302 Rainier, Mount, Washington, United States 303 Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, United States 305 Rhyolite 307 Richter, Charles 309 Ruapehu, Mount, New Zealand 312 Russia 314 S 316 San Andreas Fault 316 San Francisco Earthquake, California, United States (1906) 319 Sanriku Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan (1896) 324 Santa María, Guatemala 326 Seiche 326 Seismology 328 Seismometer 331 Sendai Earthquake and Tsunami, Japan (2011) 333 Shasta, Mount, California, United States 336 Shield Volcano 338 Shishaldin Volcano, Alaska, United States 339 South American Plate 341 South Sister Volcano, Oregon, United States 342 St. Helens, Mount, Washington, United States 343 Subduction Zone 352 Supervolcano 353 T 356 Tambora Eruption, Indonesia (1815) 356 Tangshan Earthquake, China (1976) 358 Taupo Volcano, New Zealand 360 Toba Eruption, Indonesia 362 Tonga 363 Transform Boundary 364 Tsunami 365 Tsunami Warning Centers 369 U 372 Unimak Island Earthquake and Tsunami, Alaska, United States (1946) 372 United States Geological Survey 375 United States of America 376 Unzen Eruption, Japan (1991–1995) 379 V 382 Vanuatu 382 Vent 383 Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 383 Volcanic Hazards 385 Volcano Disaster Assistance Program 390 Volcano Monitoring Techniques 391 Volcanoes and Earthquakes, Mythology of 394 W 398 Williams, Howel 398 World Organization of Volcano Observatories 399 Bibliography 400 Index 418 A 418 B 418 C 419 D 420 E 420 F 420 G 420 H 421 I 421 J 421 K 422 L 422 M 422 N 423 O 424 P 424 R 426 S 426 T 428 U 428 V 429 W 429