Plate Tectonic Tour: Post #4: Japan

Yo yo yo so now that I'm all refreshed and my blog isn't acting like crap, I can tell you that I just landed on the eastern coast of Japan... they just renovated a brand new hotel since everything was... you know. Well, blue skies, blue ocean, fresh ocean breeze... everything's great... just kidding... not really... there's just barren landscape everywhere, burnt down and wrecked buildings... concrete walls and cracked fluorescent lights scattered across the road. Well, at least this little area is nice... artificial grass and such... it's a nice hotel... anyways, let's talk. Since I've made a dedication about talking about plate tectonics, I'll just have to talk about that instead of the great sushi I just had... did you know Japan's main source of food and occupation is fish? Yeah, big wowzer right there huh... well maybe the food part was obvious. Anyways, let's see. Right, Tsunami and earthquakes. Letsss talk earthquake first, since Tsunamis derive from Earthquakes. I'm talking to the hotel manager, Hataki Takashima who is an expert at this stuff, so you can all know that the following info is correct. This is what I learned...

An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel.

You know how the Japanese video game company called "Atari" basically started this legend about "Godzilla"? And how that giant dino-bully would just come around and incinerate buildings and wreck havoc with it's 50000000000000000000 degree fiery dragon-breath? And how people actually believe it because they could feel it's giant unearthly feet? Yeaaaaah peeps I think that was an "earthquake" not a giant fictional gaming cartoon dragon guy that's from another dimension... I hope that scientists don't find a way to open a portal to another dimension... seriously bro, not a good idea. Anyways, let me tell you about how Earthquakes are related to Tsunamis.

Again, I'm too lazy to write things in my own words, so I decided to quote Takashima.. here's what he said... by the way, his hamachi and sake sushi is the absolute best... anyways, here you go:

"So Tsunamis are giant waves caused by earthquakes or volcanic eruptions under the sea. Out in the depths of the ocean, tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height. But as the waves travel inland, they build up to higher and higher heights as the depth of the ocean decreases. The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean depth rather than the distance from the source of the wave. Tsunami waves may travel as fast as jet planes over deep waters, only slowing down when reaching shallow waters. While tsunamis are often referred to as tidal waves, this name is discouraged by oceanographers because tides have little to do with these giant waves.

The largest tsunami on record rushed past Ishigaki Island, Japan, in 1971. It was an incredible 84.7 meters (278 feet) high. While it caused little damage, the giant wall of water relocated a 750-ton block of coral 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) inland."

So I hope that Takashima there explained stuff pretty well... so that about does it for the post... I'm back to sushi and some hot sake... still a nice city, just needs to be rebuilt. Imma show you the photos I took... got another helicopter tour. Helicopters for the win. Peace and God bless ya Japan! Get well soooooon you already survived the storm anyways you guys the toughest... =D