The Big One (1985 Mexico's Earthquake)

The Big One

 

I grew up in Mexico City in a family of 8 siblings and Mom and Dad.  I always say that I had a very happy childhood, not because I remember everything about my past, but because I feel it in my heart.  I honestly can say that I remember only a few things as a child and some as an adolescent/teenager. Not like my Dad, who used to say he remembered when he was born (I don't know about that one Dad!) and he had lots of memories when he was a child and then growing up.  I wish I had many more memories than what I remember now.  But there is one significant event I will never forget; "The Big One" Mexico's earthquake in 1985.  When I think about it, I actually remember every detail of that day.  And it's with joy and sadness that I recall it because I was blessed to have everyone in my family saved but sad to remember that many lives were lost that day.

 

It was an ordinary day for me, as for a lot of Mexicans, I would say. It was Thursday, September 19, 1985. I was the only one getting up early, most if the time, at home. I went to school close to the center of Mexico. I had to use public transportation.  It used to take about an hour and a half to get to my school "Vocacional #5 de Taxquena". Classes started early, first class at 7:00 am. My first period class was on the third floor. Suddenly, people started complaining about being pushed around.  I felt something in my seat as well (like someone was pushing me), my seat was two rows down from the side windows that faced the street and I notice the big electricity cables moving back and forth.  We all started to panic and to yell "it's an earthquake".... Our teacher stood in front of the class and told us to calm down. It was the longest two minutes of my life... But, before the two minutes were over, our teacher who was suppose to  keep us calm, inched himself to the door and took off.  Then we panicked even more. So we looked at each other and took off as well! I'm not sure if the quake was over or not, but when we made it to the door, everyone was evacuating, there was a lot of pushing and shoving. Everyone wanted to make it down, it was scary to think that the building would collapse and or get hurt by the stampede of students. Finally, I made it all the way down and the next thought in my mind was of all my family back home.. Are they ok? is anyone hurt? Is the house ok? The pay phone line was long and I didn't wanted to wait so, I headed out to cross the street and catch my bus to take me home. There were many routes, so I made sure I got on the right one (no extra money on hand if I make a mistake!!), to my surprise my bus took a different route and my heart sank. Whaaat?.. I made sure this was the right one! What happened? .. Someone in the bus said they needed to detoured busses due to collapsed buildings on the main route. These photographs are similar to the images I saw on my way home.. And I couldn't help crying thinking about my loved ones!!...

 

What should have been a 1 1/2 hour trip home turned into 3 hours. One can only imagine what went through my mind on those long hours. It was like something from a horror movie.

Finally I arrived home. From the bus stop I still had to walk about five blocks which seemed like miles at that time.  As I get to the straight street to leads to my house I can see little people standing  in the middle of the a street, it was my family waiting for me.  Finally I can breathe normal again!! Someone up there loves us, all my family was safe and the house was ok. 

The news on TV were not good. Mexico City had been hit with the biggest earthquake of written history. An earthquake of an 8.1 magnitude on the Righter scale, that lasted approximately 2 minutes. 

The following day classes were suspended.  Authorities needed to assess our buildings. The next day, September 20th at around 7:38 pm another quake shook Mexico again, this time an earthquake  of a 7.6 magnitude.  This time I wasn't too scared, I was home with my family.  This was my little personal experience. Following are some facts and details from an earthquake that took many lives, left vast material damages, and left a grand city with a memory that will forever be remembered.

According to Azteca - www.azteca.com These are some of the highlights of the 1985 Mexico's Earthquake.

Date: September 19, 1985 - 07:19:47 a.m. Central Time
           Aftershock: September 20, 1985 - 19:38:17 p.m. Central Time

Type: Subduction / trepidatory and oscillatory

Magnitude: 8.1
                    7.8
Duration : approximately 2 minutes

Max Intensity: VI a VIII Mercalli

Depth: 15.0 km2

Victims: 10,00 - 50,000

The epicenter was located on the Pacific Ocean in front of the coast of Michoacán.  The fault that produced the earthquake was located on a gap called "Brecha de Michoacán" known for his noticeable, until this date, seismic inactivity.  It was determined that the movement was caused by a Subduction of the plate called  "Placa de Cocos" under the North American Plate.  Some of the diverse appreciations made upon the type of energy that liberated  such movement was the equivalent to 1114 atomic bombs of 20 kilotons each one.

To make matters worse, a second replica was felt the next day.  20 damaged buildings suffered a second hit that crumbled them down.

The number of victims it's unknown.  At the time, the government issue a censorship regarding the victims. The government reported originally 10,000 victims, but years later with census and other government agencies was determined that the victims  could have been up to 50,000.  The number of victims rescued was estimated at 6,000, including 70 newborn/infants from Hospital Juarez.  Among those newborn (two girls and one boy) were rescued alive seven days after the earthquake.

Most of the public services were damage, public transportation - some streets were blocked with debris from the fallen structures, water - pipes were broken in many places, electricity, phone lines,  and gas.  Some of these services were not back in function until months after.  For example the phone line to make long distance calls (national and international) was reestablished until March 1986.

I hope you find a silver lining amongst this tragedy.  I did.  I could have been dead like the 300 students who died when their school collapsed. And to honor those who left us behind, may you be in a happier place.

For now, this is it folks!!

Bea :)

References:

1.  www.azteca.com - 10/09/86

 

Trona Pinnacles (Southern California's Mojave Desert)

Trona Pinnacles Field Trip

Have you ever been dragged to a place you didn't want to go?.. But once you are there,  you thank whoever dragged you out of bed, on the weekend, at 5:00 am in the morning because you discover this place is like magic!!.. What? for how long was I asleep? are we still in California? Are we in the same planet?... Oh no, we've been abducted by Aliens and dropped us on a distant planet?... No silly, this is still California, we're close to Ridgecrest. Oh, well! Thank you Hun for bringing us here.

 

This was a pretty amazing trip, one I didn't expect. When we got there the Trona Pinnacles look so majestic.  I didn't know much about them then but I did a little research an this is what I found. First, these are some of our pictures from our trip.

 

My son and I

My husband Ramon and Ramon Jr.

 

 

According to the DesertUSA (www.desertusa.com)- The unique rock formation were created about 10,000 years ago when Searles Lake formed a link in a chain of interconnected lakes throughout the Owens Valley and the Mojave Desert, At its peak, due to glacial runoff form the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west, Searles Lake reached a depth of 640 feet and overflowed into Panamit Valley and Death Valley.



 

The tufa pinnacles formed underwater through the interaction of blue-green algae and local chemicals and geothermal conditions.  As the regional climate cool and the glaciers disappeared, the trapped water of Searles Lake became rich in carbonate brine.  Calcium-rich underground hot springs welled up through fault line fractures on the lake bottom, forming calcium carbonate deposits.  Colonies of blue-green algae then bonded to these deposits and, over several thousands years, formed tufa reefs. The unusual landscape consist of more than 500 tufa spires, some as high as 140 feet, rising fro the bed of the Searles Dry Lake basin. When Searles Lake dried up completely, the Trona Pinnacles remained.

 

Because of the site's significance as one of the most outstanding examples of tufa features in North America, the Trona Pinnacles were designated a National Natural Landmark in 1968 by the U.S. Department of Interior.

 

According to the BLM (US Bureau of Land Management)- Geologically the pinnacles are classified in four general shapes:

 

* Towers - they are taller that they are wide and rise 30 to 40 feet.  Look for pointed, rounded, or flat summits.

* Tombstones - are stubby and squat and rise 20 to 30 feet.

*Ridges - are massive, toothy and tufa runs.  Trona Pinnacles has three ridges.  One ridge is 800 feet long, 500 feet wide and 140 feet tall.

*Cones - are less than 10 feet tall.  Dumpy and mounded cones shapes lay scattered throughout the Trona Pinnacles. 

 



 Somewhere between the rock formation there is a sign about the Trona Pinnacles. It reads as follows:

 

National Natural Landmark and Area of Critical Environmental Concern

 

Consisting of over 500 spires, some as high as 140 feet, the Trona Pinnacles are the most outstanding examples of tufa (porous rock formed as a deposit from springs of streams) in North America.  These exotic examples appearing rock formations are relics of the glacial periods during which the valleys of this area were filled with water and formed a great chain of interconnected lakes.  The area received water from the Owens River and occasionally overflowed to the south, east and north.

The Pinnacles themselves, which vary size and shape from short and squat to tall and thin, are composed primarily of calcium carbonate and rise dramatically contrasted against the flat lake bottom, has been frequently, and appropriately, described as a landscape from another world.

Administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

 

Notes on getting There

The Trona Pinnacles are located 20 miles east of Ridgecrest, California.  They are accessible via a dirt road that intersects with California Route 178,  more less 7 1/2 miles south of the town of Trona.  We took my husband's service truck, but I think any car would be able to drive through it.  Spring and  Fall is the best time to visit since in the Summer it gets real hot.

 

I have heard people say the sunrise and sunset are spectacular!! We have yet to experience that.  Maybe soon!  I hope you all enjoy it one day as well.

 

This is it for now folks!!

 

Bea :)

 

References:

 

1. Deser USA - www.desertusa.com. 1996-2013

 

2. U. S. Bureau of Land Management.

 

 

 

 

 



El Popo (Mexico's active volcano)

   As a child it is hard to realize the geological aspects of your surroundings.  Must of us are mainly interested on a trip to anywhere to get out of the house and have fun. My father had a great respect for nature and wanted us to learn about it as well as the history behind it. Some of our trips included going to museums, the Aztec Pyramids, the ocean, rivers and a few trips to visit the snow covered mountains, El Popo and Iztaccihuatl, oh the good old days!! When my parents moved to Mexico City, it was a big valley. In any given morning, if it was a clear day, both mountains were visible from the house (not too much pollution as present days!).
       We all grew up knowing the legend of these two mountains.  Even in present days, school age students know it.

       Popocateptl and Iztaccihuatl ~ Popocateptl ("the Smoking Mountain"), Iztaccihuatl (Sleeping Woman)
According to legend, Iztaccihuatl's dad sent Popocatepetl to war in Oaxaca and promise him his daughter in marriage if he returned. After a few days, Iztaccihuatl's dad told her that he had died in battle, she became very sad and died.  When Popocateptl returned, he discovered that his loved one had died.  He became very sad.  He carried her lifeless body up to some hills and laid her on her back.  As for him, he said she was only asleep, therefore, he will be at her side for eternity protecting her while she slept.  A little after, his broken heart will not live anymore , he died watching over her loved one. As the God's watched this sacrifice of love, they turned the bodies into great  mountains and covered them with snow.  He sometimes stills throws out smoke, showing that he is still watching over Iztaccihuatl, who sleeps by his side.

That's a nice story, but this is the real deal: Following are some facts about El Popo, one of Mexico's active volcano.

Age: 730,000
Elevation: 5,426 m (17,802 ft)
Prominence: 3,020 m (9,908 ft) Ranked 89th
Listing: Ultra
Location: Mexico-Puebla-Morelos
Type: Estratovolcano
Last eruption 2013 (ongoing)
Easiest rout: rock/snow climb

El Popo is currently active after being dormant for about half of last century.  One of the major eruptions happened in 1947.

In more recent times, following are some dates of recorded activity:

"On Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 at 7:28 pm local time, El Popo erupted again with a high amplitude tremor that lasted and was recorded for 3.5 hours.  It began with plumes of ash that rose 3 km into the air and began drifting W at first, but later began to drift ESE covering areas of the villages of
San Juan Tianguismanalco, San Pedro Benito Juarez and the City of Puebla in smoke and ash.  Explosions from the volcano itself subsequently ejected fragments of fiery volcanic rock to distances of 700 m from the crater". (Inside Mexico Publishing, Oct 2011)

On our recent visit to Mexico City we noticed for a couple of days that the cars had this talc like film layer, as well as on the sidewalks.  I was not sure what it was until they told me it came from the volcano. The volcano had been exploding for several days.  Citizens are urge to sweep the ash and place it in a plastic bag to avoid clogging of the drains. The national alert had been moved to Yellow Phase 3. "On July 4th, 2013, One of the world's most active volcanoes, Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano, has come to life, spewing ash, gas, and steam (as seen from the village of Santiago Xalitzintla)." (National Geographic Daily News, July 2013)

"July 12, 2013 - Popocatepetl volcano spewed a 2 mile high cloud of ash over Mexico City over several days of eruptions. Volcanic dust from the volcano has coated cars in Mexico City and thicker accumulations coated crops, homes, and sidewalks in towns closer to the volcano." (The Christian Science Monitor, July 2013)

Some of the locals have expressed the trouble they have with the ash since most of the water they use comes from the melting snow from the volcano, and when the ash falls on the water they are not able to use it, therefore, they don't have water for bathing, cooking, or to feed their animals etc.

During these days, Mexico City's airport cancelled some flights due to climate conditions.  Our flight was schedule for Saturday, July 13.  We didn't have problems with that.  Following are some pictures we took (well my brother did!) as we were driving back home from a fieldtrip on July 10th.

For now this is it folks!

Bea :)



References:

1. Inside Mexico Publishing. htt:://www.inside-mexico.com. October 2011

2. Natural Geographic Daily News. July 2013

3. The Christian Science Monitor. www.csmonitor.com. July 2013