I took Utah Geography a few years ago, it was filled with hard work (typically university level classes). At the same time, I enjoyed it especially get to learn all kinds of interesting things about where I live. One spring Saturday, the instructor took the class on a trip field. We met in the parking lot that morning and the first thing she went over with us was that the Wasatch Mountain is what made Utah the way it is from its beautiful powder snow to the teeth-clattering winters, etc.

She talked about the tectonic plates and how it affected Utah. I haven’t learn about the tectonic plates since the 6th grade and the only thing I knew was these plates are what cause the earthquakes. Also this was an online class. So I only know what I did homework on.

She said the mountains move about 1 mm per year. Obviously, that’s not a lot but still, fascinating information.

Then we played a little game. Well, it wasn’t a game but it was fun. She would ask us a question and we were supposed to answer. The answer is always the Wasatch Mountains.

What caused Utah to have the greatest snow on Earth? Everyone would respond, “Wasatch Mountains!”

What caused the snow? “Wasatch Mountains!”

Why do Northern Utah have earthquakes? “Wasatch Mountains!”

After that, we took a trip down to Fault-line Park, a few blocks away. The road down to the park was steep and narrow. It reminded me a lot of the streets I walked when I visited San Francisco.

As we stood in the park, the instructor told us that if an earthquake hits, this park would be the worst possible place to be. The fault-line is most concentrated here. It suddenly made me wonder why they built those apartment building next to the park if it’s dangerous. On the other hand, the fault-line hadn’t been active for the past 100-plus years.

When I got home that day, I went to Google and found an article that said an major earthquake (anywhere from 6.0 to 7.3 magnitude) is supposed to happen every 100 years or so and it’s been more than 100 years. So those apartments are probably in danger if an earthquake comes.

How’s that for Forces of Nature?

Daily Prompt – New Internet Order

Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Forces of Nature