Geography At The Movies
Does Hollywood Get Natural Disasters Right? ~Earthquakes
Volcano~ The Movie
This article will explore the realism of the scenes shown in the film, through comparing this movie to real life scenarios as well as studying how volcanoes work and seeing how accurate this movie actually is.
Location
In the film, the hazard was first shown as an earthquake occurring in Los Angeles that soon triggers a volcano that had been forming within the sewers. This is a typical location for earthquakes as there are many fault lines that can be found in and around Los Angeles. However, unlike the film, it is highly unlikely for a volcano to have even found in that area, much less forming underground for 10,000- 500,000 years gone unnoticed.
'Ring of Fire' On The Map
California's Fault Lines
World Map
How This Hazard Works In Reality
Case Study
Due to the unrest in the country at the time, it was very difficult for people to monitor the volcano and put emergency responses in place and in no time at all, the lava lake that was inside the volcano's crater had already began to drain through the 3 fissures that had opened up at the south side of the volcano causing an eruption. The lava reached to speeds of 60km/h, leaving little to no warning as the lava flooded the city of Goma.
This eruption destroyed up to 30% of the city and left many people homeless and jobless with over 350,000 people dependant on aid even a month after the eruption.
How This Film Clip Differ From Reality
For one, volcanoes can only occur along subduction zones (areas in which one tectonic plate slips under another, sinking into the mantle allowing the plates to combine), therefore, the possibility of a volcano forming in the middle of LA is very small, besides, the average rate of conversion is a mere 2 to 8 cm per year meaning that it is highly unlikely for a volcano to be forming underground completely unnoticed.
Second of all, the K rails they used wouldn't have done much to block the lava; and the water that was doused on top of the lava would have done little to help, much less stop it completely as the movie had suggested. Besides, people would normally be too busy fleeing rather than staying behind attempting to stop the lava flow as it is highly unlikely that they'll succeed.
If I were to rate this movie in terms of accuracy out of 10 (10 being 100% accurate), I'd probably rate this movie a 4.
Conclusion
This hazard is unrealistic because of some of the ways people came as to keeping people safe as well as how they presented the dangerousness of this substance, not to mention, the location and the logic itself in the film was also pretty much impossible (a volcano forming and erupting in the middle of Los Angeles without warning?).
Compared to the volcano shown in another famous disaster film, 'Dante's Peak', this film is more realistic in comparison to 'Volcano' as the depiction of the severity of it's effects and the depiction of their methods of predicting the eruption.
Hollywood choses to exaggerate natural disasters as it often makes for a better plot line and it helps the story come together.
Bibliography
http://paleopix.com/blog/2012/12/05/bad-geology-movies-volcano-1997/
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120461/plotsummary
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http://sites.csn.edu/eslhome/animalspredict2.htm
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http://www.universetoday.com/39642/volcanic-bombs/
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Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
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http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/ringfire/
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http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/
http://io9.com/5952209/7-scientific-facts-that-will-ruin-movies-for-you
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120461/goofs
https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/about/faq/faqeq.php
http://www.earthobservatory.sg/faq-on-earth-sciences/are-earthquakes-and-volcanic-eruptions-related
This is evidence of the triangulation I did to ensure that all the information I was putting into this 'magazine article' was accurate.
I used the method of Triangulation by going on multiple sources to check the accuracy and the validity of the information I was receiving. Triangulating means that you use at least three sources like it's namesake and it not only helps you validate and check the information you have, it also can be used to get multiple opinions or perspectives on a controversial topic. However, in this case, Triangulation is merely used as a way to make sure all the information you have is accurate.
Extension Questions
1. Birds can sense impending volcanoes and fly away.
Although it has been rumoured the birds can sense and fly away from earthquakes (a earthquake that does appear in the beginning of the movie), there still isn't any solid evidence or reason as to why this happens, there is also no mention of birds being able to sense a volcanic eruption.
2. Are volcanoes and earthquakes linked to each other?
As I have aforementioned, there have been some records of volcanoes erupting days after a massive earthquake, however, this isn't consistent and there hasn't been any solid evidence or proof linking these two natural disasters together.
3. Are dogs more sensitive to tectonic activity than humans?
Dogs have been said to be able to predict both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions acting strangely right before the incident by doing things such as digging holes, burrowing, howling, whining, etc.
4. The lava is very slow and thick, what type of lava is this likely to be?
This is most likely to be 'A'a' lava.
5. Would it be possible to breath and talk so close to an eruption?
It would not be possible to breathe and talk close to an eruption as the gas would cause quite a bit of damage to your body and could lead to excessive coughing, choking, gasping, or even bleeding lungs