São Miguel, Azores
Canadians check The Weather Network every morning. Azoreans refer to The Earthquake Register over their morning coffee.
Azores Earthquake Register
2 earthquakes occurred in the past 24 hours, 33 in the past 30 days.
The Azores Archipelago is situated at the junction of three tectonic regions. The North American, European, and African plates constantly bump and grind at fault lines on the ocean floor around the islands.
The Azores were born as volcanoes and have been shaped by eruptions and earthquakes since the islands emerged from the ocean approximately four million years ago.
Neither of the earthquakes that occurred last night was strong enough to be felt on land, but seismic activity occurs daily.
In January of 2021, one tectonic bump or grind resulted in sub-surface volcanic activity at the western end of the archipelago. The resultant earthquake registered 5.4. No deaths occurred.
An earthquake in 1998 resulted in 1700 homes destroyed. 8 lives were lost.
Major quakes occurred in 1941, 1975, and 1980, causing devastation and loss of life.
On December 5, 1838, a tidal wave hit São Miguel covering the city of Ponta Delgada for 8 hours. Untold lives were lost.
The worst seismic catastrophe occurred on the Azores in 1522 when 5000 people died in a 6.8 earthquake.
I checked the weather at home this evening.
It is currently -20C with a windchill, which makes it feel like -25C (-13F). Everybody in southern Alberta will be bundled up, enduring a typical January cold weather event.
Here on the Azores, the forecast is much warmer yet more ominous, and always the same.
On any given day, there is a chance that a major tectonic shift could occur. If that happens, and lava breaches the ocean floor, the temperature will rise to as high as 1250°C. Earthquakes would occur in the 6 – 8 Richter range. The sky would be 100% obscured by dense smoke and ash, but most people wouldn’t see the sky because tsunamis would have covered the Azores with water.
The ever-present chance of earthquake and tsunami doesn’t affect tourism. We are only on the islands for a brief time, so the likelihood of a major event happening while we are here is very low.
Permanent residents on the other hand, live with the constant threat. There is an almost 100% chance that a major seismic event will happen in their lifetime.
If you stay on the Azores long enough, you will experience an earthquake. It is not a matter of “If”, it is …
… A Matter of When.
Bear and I are not concerned about tectonic plates, only dinner plates.
On an unrelated topic, there is nothing like an Atlantic sunset.
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GG
Some impressive photography there my friends, especially the last big one. We’ll all be expecting the R & B holiday calendar next year 😉