Living on the Edge
Many honeymooners will probably tell you they felt the earth move while spending their very special days on Saint Barth during mid-May. However, on May 14, the earth did indeed move on this island. The minor tremble, which measured a magnitude of 4.2 on the Richter scale as recorded by the Volcanologique Observatory and Sismologique of Guadeloupe, occurred 35 km east of Saint Barth with a 25-km depth. On May 20, shortly after the minor earthquake on Saint Barth, the volcano on Montserrat erupted again - the second time since the summer of 2005. The first (recent) eruption occurred in July of 2003, with the ashes blanketing Saint Barth and causing the closing of Juliana Airport in St Maarten for a day. This time the winds were kinder to the island and carried the ashes to the East. The volcanic observatory in Guadeloupe also reported a minor tsunami related to this volcanic activity along the coast of Guadeloupe. Yes, we are living on the edge - the edge of three tectonic plates: the North American Plate, the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate.





