Flood, Fire, and Famine
in the History of Civilization
by Richard Firestone,
Allen West, and
Simon Warwick-Smith
How long since the last big one? 12,000 years? Or more?
Let’s keep some perspective here...
Meteor Crater in Winslow, Arizona (Barringer Crater) is only 50,000 years old. If an equivalent asteroid hit a major city today it could kill millions.
Or it could land in a deep ocean trench and we might possible not know it happened....maybe not even devastating waves.
maybe not the “Big One”, but will still ruin yer day
The Tunguska event was a large explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Yeniseysk Governorate, Russia, on the morning of 30 June 1908. Wikipedia
Effects: Flattening 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi) of forest
and that never hit the ground, an air burst, three to six miles (5–10 kilometers) above Earth’s surface
By comparison, the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor was about 20 meters across.
The Arizona meteor crater was formed 50,000 years ago by a 50 meter meteor. Tunguska in 1908 was estimated to be 65 meters which was destroyed in an airburst.
Hurry Up,
I’m feeling Old!
Flood, Fire, and Famine
in the History of Civilization
by Richard Firestone,
Allen West, and
Simon Warwick-Smith
