Huge Bulge in Earth's Crust Found
From Associated Press
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/science/20010509/t000039057.html
PORTLAND, Ore.--A significant bulge in the Earth's crust has developed
over the last four years near volcanoes in central Oregon, but it's not
clear whether that presages a volcanic eruption, geologists said
Tuesday.
The bulge--9 to 12 miles across and about 4 inches high--was
detected by satellite radar, said Willie Scott, a scientist at the U.S.
Geological Survey's volcano lab in Vancouver, Wash.
"Because it's a volcanic area and there's been a long history of
volcanic activity in that part of the Cascades, it's possible it might
be magma, or molten rock, moving deep underground," Scott said.
The bulge is near the Three Sisters, three volcanoes at the center
of the Cascade Range in Oregon.
The last major eruption in the Pacific Northwest occurred in May
1980, when Mt. St. Helens blew off about 1,300 feet of its top.
The uplift is too broad and low to be noticed from the ground.
Scientists have looked across the West for signs of bulges, but
this is the first prominent change on record using this technique.
"But there's nothing right now that makes us think there's an
imminent danger" of an eruption, Scott said.
The Cascades, which run from California into British Columbia, have
several volcanic peaks.
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