MetaFilter posts tagged with pacificnorthwest

"White Death moving down the mountainside"

litlnemo — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:36:58 -0800

"It... picked up cars and equipment as though they were so many snow-draped toys, and swallowing them up, disappeared like a white, broad monster into the ravine below." Nearly 100 years ago, on March 1, 1910, the deadliest avalanche in United States history struck the small town of Wellington, Washington. Ninety-six people died as a massive wall of snow struck two Great Northern trains stopped at Wellington to wait for the tracks to be cleared, rolling them nearly 1000 feet into Tye Creek and burying the victims under huge piles of snow, trees, and debris. Later that year, the town of Wellington, associated in the public mind with death and sorrow, changed its name to Tye. Changes were proposed to make the Cascade crossing safer, and eventually a new tunnel route was completed. Now the town itself is a ghost; when the new Cascade Tunnel was built, Tye's tracks and station were abandoned, and the last remaining building burned in 1930. The original, abandoned Cascade Tunnel is now the Iron Goat Trail. Photos related to the Wellington disaster at the Washington State Historical Society, in the Asahel Curtis collection. More 1910 photos. Photos of the area today. The story of the "Great Slide" by a railroad man who was at the scene. Contemporary news stories.

Nitrogen: when good elements go bad

KokuRyu — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:31:49 -0800

China's Olympic beaches, choked by a plague of green algae. Sez David Suzuki: This is not an unusual occurrence, but it is a symptom of an underlying problem with potential repercussions far more serious than hampering Olympic events. The blooms -- along with a host of other problems -- are caused by excessive amounts of nitrogen from sources such as road and industrial run-off, untreated sewage, and, most of all, fossil-fuel combustion and agricultural fertilizers. Excess use of nitrogen is contributing to 400 oceanic dead zones around the globe, double the number found by the United Nations two years ago... Farmers in Iowa and across the Midwest use tons of nitrogen and phosphorous to make their cornfields more productive, which allows the farmers to take advantage of high corn prices resulting from growing demand from ethanol factories and developing countries. Rain always causes some fertilizer to run off farmland, but this summer's historic flooding caused even more runoff into rivers that flow into the Mississippi. A review of ocean data records indicates that the low-oxygen events (the so-called 'dead zones') off the Pacific Northwest coast since 2002 are unprecedented and may be linked to the stronger, persistent winds expected to occur with global warming. Oxygen-deprived water rose up from the deep ocean two years ago, cutting a deadly swath along the Pacific Northwest coast, say scientists, who watched in awe as fish fled and crabs and worms died en masse creating a rotting carpet on the sea floor. China's algae problems may be part of the so-called "rise of slime", where rising ocean temperatures and changing chemistry are causing explosions of primitive life, like algae and jellyfish. The Chosun Ilbo reports that, in August, “southern and western beaches in Korea may appear to be nearly half water and half jellyfish.” The New York Times notes pollution... reduces oxygen levels and visibility in coastal waters. While other fish die in or avoid waters with low oxygen levels, many jellyfish can thrive in them. And while most fish have to see to catch their food, jellyfish, which filter food passively from the water, can dine in total darkness. Jellyfish, relatives of the sea anemone and coral that for the most part are relatively harmless, in fact are the cockroaches of the open waters, the ultimate maritime survivors who thrive in damaged environments, and that is what they are doing.

litlnemo — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 03:00:12 -0800

"It is doubtful that the popular sport in Seattle can survive," wrote a Seattle sportswriter in 1966, after three of unlimited hydroplane racing's most popular drivers were killed in one horrific day in Washington, D.C. Forty years later, what was once the most popular sport in Seattle survives, if not thrives, and this weekend's Chevrolet Cup will feature boats with safety improvements that trace directly back to the events of "Black Sunday". But it's nothing like it used to be in the 60s and 70s, when "winning a hydro race was about the biggest thing a Seattle kid could do," and everyone in town, knew names like the boats Miss Bardahl, Miss Budweiser, and the drivers Bill Muncey, Chip Hanauer, and Dean Chenoweth -- and no one, but no one would miss the Seafair hydro races.

Wine Spodee-O-Dee, Drinkin' Wine

litlnemo — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 03:17:29 -0800

Spodee (among other spellings) is a Pacific Northwest party drink, a mixture of alcohol and fruit, frequently made in a trash can and left to marinate a day or two before the party. The origin of the word is unknown, but it seems likely to come from the classic R&B song "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" by Stick McGhee, which in 1949, was the first big hit record for Atlantic Records. (More inside, including links to sound files)

American Indians of the Pacific Northwest

jeffmshaw — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 13:41:25 -0800

"For 500 generations they flourished until newcomers came... much was lost; much was devalued, but much was also hidden away in the hearts of the dispossessed." Much that is now available in image and in writing at the University of Washington's "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest" Collection.

Ice Age Floods

stbalbach — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 01:09:09 -0800

Ice Age Floods Institute. In recent geological time immensely powerful, cataclysmic Ice Age Floods regularly swept across the Pacific Northwest. A proposed Ice Age Floods National Geological Trail is in the works. Virtual tour of Glacial Lake Missoula.

The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network

doorsnake — Fri, 31 Jan 2003 16:01:38 -0800

The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network Live in Washington or Oregon? Felt a little rumble recently (like I did)? Want to see if it was an earthquake? You can even check out the live seismographs, including some on Mt. St. Helens.