Hi Chris - sounds like fun! I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to camp out! I'm with you!

The History channel just ran a show on the Rio Grande Rift - I didn't even know it existed before that - they expect the gulf of Mexico to eventually form a new inland sea.. there is a FAQ about it here: http://cires.colorado.edu/science/groups/sheehan/projects/riogrande/faq/

Yes, it's active and likely to produce a 7+ quake in the future

And yes, Lone Pine had a quake in 1872 where 29 people died - 52 of 59 adobe houses crumbled - there were 250-300 inhabitants, so more like 10%. Indian Wells had adobe houses that cracked from that quake -

BAM was 43,000 and mud brick buildings... Maybe Taos builders have better mud..

Canie

• Rio Grande Rift FAQ