Say It With Me - 'Liquefaction'!

One thing (among many) that I learned from this last earthquake in Christchurch - soil liquefaction.  You gotta admit, that's a pretty cool sounding word - it just rolls off your tongue and makes you sound so intelligent!  Actually I am sure I learned it about 20 years ago in one of my soil engineering classes in Uni - but come on, how much of what we learned in school actually sticks with us (especially 2 decades later)!?!

Anyways, here's a link to the explanation of what soil liquefaction is (come on, say it with me, you know you want to - liquefaction) - click here.  Basically it is the ground turning liquid or semi-liquid because of the shaking of the earth - kinda like quicksand.

And here are a few photos of the results of liquefaction in Christchurch (here's another chance to say it - liquefaction)...











PS - photos came from various sources in Google Images

PPS - Pray for the people who are dealing with liquefaction and its destructive powers.  :-(