The horn of Africa is well known with Earth Scientists; it results from the GREAT RIFT moving northward towards the Red Sea, which forms the horn by the separation of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The Geology Culture has called it a “Triple Junction” because of the divergence of at least two movements laterally. The Google photo of this “horn” for the Red Sea is shown below:
These triple junctions are common- being the result of two diverging movements, usually as indicated by waterways, rivers, creeks, and junctions of rivers with the ocean. An example I have explored in the field is that of the Valley of Fire, NV State Park, where the Muddy, Virgin and Overton Arm of Lake Mead present a rotation of the Crust about the location where the convergence occurs. This is shown below, for Nevada, where great faulting from the Virgin, Basin and Range, B&R, and other rotations have a common locus:
BELOW IS MY APPRAIISAL OF THE IMPORTANT MOVEMENTS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED NEAR THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA AND VANCOUVER I. CANADA:
WE WILL PROCEEED TO DECIPHER THE CRITICAL MOVEMENT, WHICH HAS FORMED THE "HORN" AS TO HOW IT FITS THE ON-GOING LATERAL FAULTING AND MOVEMENT OF VANCOUVER I. TO THE NW (CREATING THE JUAN DE FUCA STRAIT- WHICH IS SIMILAR TO THE RED SEA). The Horns of Africa and Washington Olympic Peninsula have several features in common (ignoring the scale- where the Rift Valley is a hemispheric phenomenon):
1, Both have a circular presentation, with the Olympic feature having an additional rotation along the coast;
2. Both exist at the continental edge (by oceans)- Indian and Pacific;
3. Both have a spreading zone- the Red Sea and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (for SdF, there is more lateral movement- toward the NW);
4. Both have large-extent faulting. It is agreed by the Geology Culture that there is normal faulting, and I find that both have lateral movement; and,
5. Both have significant mountain ranges nearby (Olympics and Ahmar Mts. In Ethiopia).
There are significant differences:
a. Horn of Africa is in desert latitudes- 10N, while Horn of WA is at 48N, a rain catcher;
b. The Red Sea is a hydrocarbon producer, while JdF is in a shear zone with little hint of hydrocarbons;
c. Red Sea results from a hemispherical shear, with WA resulting from a regional lateral shearing rotation (mainly within WA and BC);
d. Red Sea is near the great Sahara bulge (likely associated with the PTr asteroid strike), while WA is near the great north Pacific basin, and,
e. Red Sea seems to be associated with the great rifting E. Africa zone, while the larger influence on WA is the hemispherical Rocky- Andes mountain system.
Impinging on the solution of the movement of the Horn of WA is the interference of the continental slope- which obscures the display of transforms. Getting a handle on this requires that an understanding of the formation of shelves be acquired. I propose that the shelf is due to disruption of the Crust by either Coriolis rotation, shear by Mantle drag, or Asteroid strikes. It is possible that all three will create the shelves, and an analysis will be made for the Atlantic, where there is no eastern component (Mantle drag) possible for a continent which has moved progressively westwardly. A view of the Atlantic coast and the associated shelves is shown below:
Barring some other unknown mechanics phenomenon, the solution to the formation of the shelves should be due to Coriolis rotation or Asteroid strikes, or both. Notice that the following seems to correlate:
1. Offshore Florida indicates Coriolis rotation has created the widest shelf, while offshore Newfoundland has the longest shelf along the direction of transforms. These indicate that the two factors cannot yet be separated;
2. Shelf boundary follows the 40N latitude parallel (Long Island eastward- a distance of 666 km, and using 250 m.y. as the time of disruption, a crustal velocity or 2.7 mm/yr), until the edge is reached, at which there is an inflection. 40N is the northern boundary of the Equatorial Bulge, so that this is an additional factor to be incorporated;
3. Shelf size is not correlated with land mass, since Newfoundland-eastward has the largest width of shelf. The first indication is that the shelf resides where a Crustal landmass previously existed (before movement by Coriolis, asteroid strike, or shifting of bulges in the earth’s diameter- such as mountains, EB, or asteroid craters);
4. Shelf size is not correlated with direction of the Appalachian (REVOLUTION) NW trace, and this hints of a poor relation with asteroid strikes; and,
5. Siltation from other entities, such as erosion of nearby landmass, may be a “fly-in-the-ointment”, since the traces or appearance of shelves is the same as within Hudson Bay. This emphasizes that shelves represent negative information- where transforms, shear lines and direction of disturbance are obscure, except for turbidity channels and flow current canyons.
Standard Explanation for the Continental Slope:
Generally, it is thought by the GEOLOGY CULTURE that continental shelves were created during the ICE AGE, where the sea level was on the order of as much as 120 meters lower (where water was tied up in glaciers, as solid ICE). This allowed erosion of the coastal plain to level the top of the Crust, which is now the top of the CS. This is true part of the time, where the water depth is no more than 120 meters. However, as seen in the Google photo for the Atlantic shelf, there is quite a lot of the shelf which is much deeper. This might be explained by erosion during the ice age, where turbidity currents and edge-of-shelf slumping occurred. This sort of thing is reasonable, and this typifies the progression of Geologic thought, First, something is asserted as being obvious, then it is gradually accepted by the CULTURE, and after awhile with no evidence, what was just an assertion is investigated no further, but TAKEN AS FACT!
I will leave it open whether the shelf was created by erosion during the Pleistocene, but also temper my thoughts by the observation that the GEOLOGY CULTURE is completely wrong about the Plate Theory, where movement is lateral and asserted by practitioners that all is vertical (such as subduction, Mantle Plumes, and Hotspots). Instead, Coriolis rotation is lateral, as is drag by the Mantle on the base of the Crust.
Notice that there is quite a bit of variation of the depth to the continental shelf, and a lot cannot be explained by sea level drop during the ice age. Further, I have selected the Atlantic, so that eastward drag by the Mantle cannot be the impetus, since the continent has moved westward (expected, since the crust is continually being dragged westward by TIDAL FRICTION). The Crust for continents moves slower than lower elevation sea bottom and the top of the Mantle.
Olympic Mountains are at the center of an inflection of the Pacific coast (NW USA-Washington State)
The larger view of the Olympic Peninsula is that of a turning point in the north-trending coastline from Mendocino, CA to Vancouver Island, Canada. This is the zone where vulcanism of the Cascades also trends northward, from Mt. Lassen to the Canadian border volcano and Harrison hot springs. This is not a coincidence, and would be called the SUBDUCTION ZONE FOR DIVING OF THE CRUST UNTIL MELTING OCCURS, BY GEOLOGISTS. I have found that it is the zone where the mantle is dragging the base of the crust eastward (due to its slightly faster movement- being further from the Moon’s tidal influence). A portion of the crust is rotating horizontally- similar to a horizontal rod of rock, oriented N-S- and the evidence is that the eastern portion is emerging along sections of the Snake and Bitterroot Rivers. These two river sections are mirror-images of the rifts found to the west in the Eastern Pacific, which are actively moving openings in the offshore crust. The lowest line of the diving crust exists under the Willamette Valley and Puget Sound, where both are sinks, and where active shearing, rotating, sinking and faulting occur. This entity occurs from the Siskiyou Mountains in the south to Vancouver Island, Canada; there is sinking all along this trend parallel to the Pacific coast until the E-W mountains block it.
THE MOST GENERAL DIAGRAM OF CRUST MOVING EASTWARD, DUE TO MANTLE DRAG (NAMED SUBDUCTION BY THE GEOLOGY CULTURE), IS SHOWN BELOW:
The Olympic Mountains and Peninsula appears to be the rotation point, about which the Pacific coastline veers to the NW, and which trends southward towards Oregon and CA. The Columbia River is the low point of this SAG, and the valleys rise to the south along the Willamette and north along the Cowlitz in WA. The sink in WA is irregular, however, and should not be used for orientation. This is shown in a model I concocted for understanding the dynamics of the rhyolitic extrusions and movement of the Yellowstone track in ID, OR, and NV:
VANCOUVER ISLAND IS SHOWN BELOW, TO SHOW HOW IT FITS INTO THE REGIONAL DYNAMICS AND MOVEMENTS OF THE CRUST:
Significance of the Coastal inflection at the Olympic Peninsula
It appears that the Pacific coastline made an oblique turn north of the Juan de Fuca Strait. The entire island of Vancouver, as well as the inland passage to Alaska, orients NW-SE- a 45 degree turn. That this continued, hints that there was a shift in the dynamics of the region north of the Olympic Mountains. Further, the fact of the sphericity of the mountains- which is rare in the world of mountain ranges- indicates that there was a rotation due to wobble of the Earth’s Poles (alignment of the axis, with regard to the Ecliptic). We have found that the Aleutian spiral indicated that the Earth was perturbed by the KT strike, later at 41 m.y. moving the trace of the feature southward, and finally absorbing an ICE AGE, WHERE THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE WAS DEPRESSED BY THE WEIGHT OF THE ICE (ROTATING IT CW), AND LATER RECOVERED BY MOVING THE ROTATION TO THE WEST ALONG THE ALEUTIANS. Now, the region is rising, as shown in my studies of Whidbey Island, causing a CCW movement (left-lateral faulting) with rebound or uplift. This is probably happening on the Aleutian chain also, but I need to see field evidence fort this. We can do this by proxy, measuring striations on rocks closer at had, where there has been GLACIAN, AND NOW REBOUND (as on the east side of the Olympic Peninsula). This is shown elsewhere in the PorOgle blog.
More pertinent to this analysis, we must find evidence of a 41 m.y. strike causing the anomalies which occurred in the northern hemisphere:
1. Fractionization of islands near Alaska, Canada, and Greenland;
2. Circular arrangement of coastlines or bays and inland sinks;
3. “Jerks” in the traces of regional faulting and fracturing; and,
4. Shifts in the linear arrangement of coastlines, thrusts, mountain ranges, and bulges on the Earth’s surface. All of the above 4 factors occur in the NW USA and Canada: many islands east of Vancouver Island, north of Canada; Hudson Bay, rotation of the Great Lakes in a circular pattern; shifts of the MAR trace near Iceland, Greenland, and the Arctic Ocean (Lomonotov to Gakkel ridges); and the occurrence of the circular Olympics, and shift of the coastline of the region:
WE NOW HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE FAULT REVERSAL AT ADMIRALTY BAY, WHIDBEY ISLAND TO INTRODUCE FAULT REVERSAL INTO THE MIX OF REBOUND, SINKING UNDER THE GLACIER ICE CAP, ROTATION OF THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS, AND DIRECTION OF LATERAL FAULTING BETWEEN OLYMPICS AND VANCOUVER ISLAND. ALTOGETHER, THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT ALONG LATERAL FAULTING HAS CHANGED WITH THE REDUCTION OF THE THICK COVERING OF ICE, WHICH CAUSED SINKING AND CW ROTATION OF ANY MASS PROTRUDING INTO THE ATMOSPHERE:
AND WE CAN NOW ANALYZE THE "LARGER PICTURE" OF THE OLYMPICS TO THE ALASKAN VOLCANICS, VIA USING THE IDEA OF FAULT REVERSAL AND DIVERGENCE OF TWO GREAT CORIOLIS CELLS- ONE OF WHICH EXTENDS ITS INFLUENCE TO VANCOUVER ISLAND AND THE OLYMPICS:
BELOW ARE PARKED SOME PHOTOS WHICH SHOW SLICKENSIDES ON THE NORTH SHORE OF CRESCENT LAKE, WHICH ARE ALIGNED WSW (ALONG THE DIRECTION OF THE THRUST INLAND FROM THE CONNTINENTAL SHELF- THE DIRECTION OF THE SHOVE OF THE SHELF EOCENE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS ONTO THE PENINSULA:
THIS DIGITAL PHOTO (EXPANDED FROM THE PREVIOUS VIEWS), TAKEN FROM THE SOUTH SHORE OF CRESCENT LAKE, WAS FOUND ON THE CONCAVE SIDE OF A ROTATION ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY 101. THE SLICKENSIDES WERE ORIENTED WSW, ORTHOGONAL TO BEDDING, AND WERE ON A VERTICAL SHEAR PLANE. THEY ARE COATED WITH CARBONATES (WHICH INCREASE IN SOLUBILITY UNDER INCREASING PRESSURE) WHICH DROPPED FROM SOLUTION AS THE SHEAR PRESSURE WAS RELIEVED.
PHOTO ABOVE SHOWS A THRUST, WHICH HAS BEEN REVERSED DURING THE MELTING OF THE ICE (CW FOR SINKING, CCW FOR RISING WITH REBOUND). THIS IS SHOWN IN LARGE VIEW BELOW, TO SHOW THE SENSITIVITY OF THESE SOFT, LOW VISCOSITY SEDIMENTS- PRESTONE- TO ROTATION, SHEAR, AND LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE CRUST:
OTHER VIEWS ARE SHOWN BELOW, WHICH SHOW THE NORMAL BEDDING (ALMOST LEVEL) NEARBY TO THE EAST, OF TILL AND GRAVEL FROM THE MELTING OF THE ICE:
THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE CONTINUED, SPECIFICALLY IN A FOLLOWING ONE, ENTITLED CONTINENTAL SHELVES FORMATION AND CORRELATIONS.
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