Something Strange With Volcano Eruption in Chile

What appears to be an enormous ash cloud rising from the eruption of a long dormant volcano named Puyehuein southern Chile on June 4, 2011, isn't quite matching up with the location of the recorded earthquakes today in the immediate area.

"The Cordon Caulle (volcanic range) has entered an eruptive process, with an explosion resulting in a 10-kilometer-high gas column," Chilean state emergency office said.

The thing is, for some unknown reason, as of this writing, eight earthquakes near magnitude 5 have shook the earth near the Puyehue volcano. The problem is, the earthquakes are located 20 to 40 miles away from the eruption! Very Strange Indeed.

There's something brewing quite a distance from the eruption, but is quite obviously directly related. We're talking about enormous energies here.

In addition, apparently the volcano itself has not erupted from it's old caldera. Instead, it has ripped a huge gash into the surface of the earth 6 miles long by 3 miles wide, 2.5 miles away! Amazing.

Thousands of people are being evacuated from the area, which is located about 60 miles northwest of San Carlos. The region was deeply shaken by a pair of very strong earthquakes during 2010, a magnitude 7.1 and a very large magnitude 8.8 quake, all located along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Chile's chain of about 2,000 volcanoes is the world's second largest after Indonesia. Some 50 to 60 are on record as having erupted, and 500 are potentially active.

Why post about volcanic eruptions like this one on a 'survival' site?

Answer: To illustrate how we become complacent. This volcano has been inactive for decades, and then suddenly, ka-boom. We must realize that we are just tiny specs of life living on top of a thin crust of shifting solid earth, and at the mercy of mother nature. It's always stunning to observe the power that lies beneath our feet.