# Is New York at risk from the Canary Islands? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 3, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876 "2008-05-03T13:23:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/1 "2008-05-03T13:23:52Z")
A variant on the earthquake/tsunami question asked [over here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=466343). I seem to recall reading that one of the Canary Islands has an unstable mountain that may fall apart suddenly into the ocean, triggering a tsunami that could seriously damage New York. Am I remembering that right? I have trouble understanding that idea. I would have thought that the effect of even a major landslide into the ocean would have been dissipated in all directions around the site of the slide, rather than focussed in one direction. Plus, the Atlantic is a big ocean. Would the effect of the slide really be felt that dramatically on the eastern seaboard? ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/2 "2008-05-03T13:51:00Z")
You’re thinking of the [Cumbre Vieja](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbre_Vieja) volcanic ridge. [This section](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbre_Vieja#Future_threat) of the Wikipedia article addresses the possibility of a [megatsunami](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megatsunami) occurring. The scenario doesn’t involve a wave directed specifically at New York; West Africa and Western Europe would also be devastated **if** such a catastrophic event were to occur. Transit times to Africa, England, and the US Eastern Seaboard are estimated at 1 hour, 3.5 hours, and ~6 hours, if the doomsayers are to be believed. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/3 "2008-05-03T15:20:20Z")
Thanks for the link to the article - so it’s not just East Coast - that makes sense. But now I’ve got another question. How high is the risk factor? It sounds like some researchers have expressed this concern, but it doesn’t sound main-stream? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/4 "2008-05-04T20:04:42Z")
Can we, maybe, send someone to destroy that volcanic ridge? ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/5 "2008-05-05T01:25:52Z")
[QUOTE=Northern Piper] Plus, the Atlantic is a big ocean. [/QUOTE] Compared to all other oceans except the Pacific, yes. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/6 "2008-05-05T01:32:21Z")
[QUOTE=HeyHomie] Can we, maybe, send someone to destroy that volcanic ridge? [/QUOTE] Thus triggering the tsunami? It might be difficult to destroy it without triggering the very thing we were trying to prevent. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/7 "2008-05-05T10:55:24Z")
[QUOTE=davidm] Thus triggering the tsunami? It might be difficult to destroy it without triggering the very thing we were trying to prevent. [/QUOTE] Plus, I imagine the Canary Islanders are quite attached to their volcanic ridge and wouldn’t be too impressed if the Marines turn up to destroy it. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/8 "2008-05-05T10:58:11Z")
[QUOTE=davidm] Thus triggering the tsunami? It might be difficult to destroy it without triggering the very thing we were trying to prevent. [/QUOTE] Isn’t this one of the principles of the Bush administration? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/9 "2008-05-05T12:29:12Z")
[QUOTE=davidm] Thus triggering the tsunami? It might be difficult to destroy it without triggering the very thing we were trying to prevent. [/QUOTE] I dunno, maybe it could be done VERY slowly and VERY carefully. Just talking out of my ass here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/10 "2008-05-05T14:06:12Z")
[QUOTE=newcrasher] Isn’t this one of the principles of the Bush administration? [/QUOTE] **Moderator Warning** You’ve been around long enough I can’t imagine you are ignorant of the rule against political jabs in GQ, especially since it’s been clarified in the new GQ Rules sticky above. Do not do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/11 "2008-05-05T15:50:52Z")
[QUOTE=davidm] Thus triggering the tsunami? It might be difficult to destroy it without triggering the very thing we were trying to prevent. [/QUOTE] The whole reason that the tsunami would be so devastating is because the rock mass in question measures about 500 cubic kilometres and has an estimated mass of 1.5 x 10^12 metric tonnes. Not the sort of thing you can just bulldoze. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/12 "2008-05-05T16:00:27Z")
“Twice the size of the Isle of Man” is a figure I saw, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/13 "2008-05-05T16:17:46Z")
[QUOTE=matt\_mcl] The whole reason that the tsunami would be so devastating is because the rock mass in question measures about 500 cubic kilometres and has an estimated mass of 1.5 x 10^12 metric tonnes. Not the sort of thing you can just bulldoze. [/QUOTE] So we couldn’t, like, put up a bunch of chain link fence to catch it when it falls, like you see on cliff faces along mountain roads? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/14 "2008-05-05T16:25:26Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] So we couldn’t, like, put up a bunch of chain link fence to catch it when it falls, like you see on cliff faces along mountain roads? [/QUOTE] [Roy Schneider]We’re gonna need a bigger avalanche fence.[/Roy Schneider] ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2008, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-new-york-at-risk-from-the-canary-islands/447876/15 "2008-05-06T10:06:26Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] **Moderator Warning** You’ve been around long enough I can’t imagine you are ignorant of the rule against political jabs in GQ, especially since it’s been clarified in the new GQ Rules sticky above. Do not do this again. Colibri General Questions Moderator [/QUOTE] My apologies. :smack: You should hear some of the things I say in inappropriate forums IRL!