I was out with 4 dogs doing some rock climbing this morning. We reached a pile
of loose rock about 200 meters high and at an angle of about 60-70 degrees. The
two youngest dogs climbed to the top with me, but after much weeping, wailing
and gnashing of teeth, the two older dogs decided they just couldn't do it and
looked for another way around the mountain. Finally, I went back down and pushed
and shoved the older dogs up that rockpile, but were they ever happy when they
got to the top and saw the entire Rocky Mountain front range in front of them. Sometimes
the climb is worth it.
Here is some information on the 1980 Kentucky quake you mentioned (for which
the 21st Anniversary is Friday):
(From the book Seismicity of the United States 1568-1989 (Revised))
Basic data:
1980 JUL 27 18:52:21 38.19N 83.89W Mb 5.1 (USGS) Felt area 667,000 sq km.
This was the largest earthquake ever with its origin in the state of Kentucky.
"1980 July 27. Northeast Kentucky, near Sharpsburg, Bath County.
This earthquake, the strongest in the history of Kentucky was felt over all or parts
of 15 States and in Ontario, Canada. Damage occurred in Indiana, Kentucky and
Ohio.
Property damage was estimated at $1 million at Maysville about 50 km north of
the epicenter in Mason County, where 37 commercial strutures and 269 private
residences were damaged to some extent. Mulitstory all-brick structures in the
downtown area, many of which were built in the mid-1800's, were affected the
most. Broken chimneys represented the most common type of damage observed:
several toppled or were broken at or near the roofline, some had bricks loosened or broken
off their tops, and others sustained cracks of varying lengths and widths. This type
of damage was a community-wide effect only in Maysville.
Cracks formed in the ground about 12 km from the epicenter. East of the epicenter
at Owingsville, ground cracks were estimated to be 6 to 10 cm deep and 30 m
long. West of the epicenter, near Little Rock, ground cracks extending towards a cistern
were observed on Stoner Road.
"