Sometimes we with horror look at the sky or we listen to the earth, expecting falling of a huge meteorite or eruption of a supervolcano. Similar cataclysms threaten to change forever the world or at all to wipe out mankind. Nevertheless, there are no them in the past, the planet would look absolutely differently, and it is unknown what would be our life today. Let’s review the most bright examples of cataclysms of the past and the present.
Break of the lake Agassis, North America. 14500 years ago, when the last from glacial eras came to an end, on border of the Lavrentiysky ice board the huge prilednikovy lake was formed. Agassis by the size approached the Black Sea, but was completely fresh-water. At some point the glacial dam constraining thickness of water collapsed, and there was one of the largest floods in the history of Earth. Waters Agassis rushed to the North Ledovity ocean, having weakened circulation of warm water from Atlantic and having shipped all region in new Ice Age on the next 1200. Perhaps, because of it many representatives of megafauna of North America died out, and also the culture Clovis was destroyed.
Outpouring of the Siberian ladders, Central Russia. 252 million years ago Earth was absolutely another. Continents did not manage to disperse yet, forming the supercontinent to the Pan-gay, but life and on the land precipitantly developed in the sea. Until in the north Pan-gays where now Siberia is located, the most powerful eruption of a supervolcano did not begin. The volume of the spread lava made more than 5 million cubic kilometers on the territory proportional to the modern USA. Mass Perm extinction during which 70% of land and 96% of sea species of vertebrata disappeared began. The stiffened lava formed the Siberian ladders.
Landslide of Sturegga, Norwegian Sea. About 8 thousand years ago in 100 kilometers from the coast of Norway the land area of the size of Iceland came off the continental shelf and slipped in depths of the Norwegian Sea. Most likely it was caused by a number of earthquakes, and also a release of a large amount of methane because of decomposition of gas hydrates. Traces of the tsunami which followed a landslide are found on 80 km deep into of the Scottish coast today.
Lucky’s, Iceland eruption. Iceland — one of the activest volcanic regions of the planet. In 1783 there was a double volcanic eruption of Lucky and Grimsvotn to the exit of 15 cubic kilometers of a basalt lava and a lava stream which filled in the area of 565 km. A half of a livestock of the cattle in Iceland, almost all birds and fishes died from damps. The followed hunger carried away about 10 thousand islanders. Ashes spread over Europe, blocking a sunlight and having caused a new crop failure and hunger.
Mass tornadoes of 2011, USA. To the United States not to get used to tornadoes, but 2011 was given by the singular. On so-called to “the avenue of a tornado” (the territory between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians) during the period 362 tornadoes collapsed from April 25 to April 28! Four of them were estimated on the power as EF5, the highest category on the improved Fujita’s scale which as a rule happen only once in a year. 348 people died, 2300 it is wounded, the material damage made about 11 billion dollars.
Epidemic of the Spanish flu, whole world. Not all natural cataclysms are bound to earthquakes and hurricanes. The pandemic of “Spaniard” which burst in recent months World War I affected about 550 million people on all Earth. About 100 million — 5.3% of the population of the planet died.
Final break Agassis and flood of the Black Sea, Eastern Europe. The break of the lake Agassis caused the new period of a cold snap that caused strengthening of an ice board. In 1200 the region became warmer again, and the lake was restored in former borders, having decanted with other large lake — Odzhibvey. However, for a while, and soon there was a new break — this time to Hudson Bay. The followed cold snap lasted only 150 years, but affected the larger square. Sea level rose almost by 4 meters, and worldwide there were large floods. Especially it was noticeable near the Black Sea which initially was only the deep fresh-water lake.
Zankliysky flood, Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea once too was the lake — about 5.6 million years ago the African and Euroasian tectonic plates approached and faced, having cut off a reservoir from the Atlantic Ocean. For the subsequent hundreds of thousands of years the Mediterranean lake evaporated, and winds delivered deposits of salt on neighboring lands. And still the Atlantic waters broke through 300 thousand years through Gibraltar and filled 90% of former volume of the Mediterranean Sea. For this purpose it was required from several months to two years, and this event is known as the Zankliysky flood.
Drought in Northern China, 1876−1879. Because of consequences of the termination of Small Ice Age at the end of the 19th century in Northern China there was a drought of improbable scales. In three years on the earth no uniform drop of a rain dropped out that caused the hunger which entailed death of 13 million people from 108 million population of the country.
Collision of Earth and Teyi. This event falls into to hypotheses, but very probable. Later 100 million years after formation Earth faced other svezheobrazovanny planet — Teyey the size approximately about Mars. Force of blow merged two planets together, and chips of Teyi formed the Moon.
