Narrative: Backtrack to 1575AD (just before the American invasion)
An island 60x70 miles in size. Are you *serious*!? That massive thing is going to take AGES to cool off! I see your sensors have indicated the future terrain, including gem deposits.
I am afraid that there will be no time to evacuate the surrounding sea. I can tell you this now. The following areas will received utter devestation within the coming minutes. Yes that's right, minutes!
- The cities of Tientsin, Chian, Coventry, Brighton will be crushed by waves measuring up to 2,000 feet in hieght.
- The northern cities of Penguin, Goonidom, New PDX, and Palanthus may not even live to see the next hour.
- Huntington, Ganges, Leeds, and Eklektochtitlan will see MASSIVE flooding. The waters will spill over into the Southwest province, and create swamps in Bavaria, Bremershaven, Morgana - turning the area into a virtual lake.
- The Burrow will get the brunt of it, as the mountains channel the water straight into the city! They will feel the effects in about 80 minutes.
- Miami will also see flooding as the waters spill out into the north sea.
- The eastern half of China, all of England, much of America, and much of Persia will be pulverised. The Persian Peninsula could very well be under 500 feet of water.
- The tsunamis WILL spread around the world, devestating eastern France, eastern Aremica, Marathon Island, and even Greece. Only the northwestern cities might escape the massive waves. Even still, those waves will be 50 feet max in some cases.
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The ensuing eruption will send feet (not inches) of ash per hour to the surrounding coastal cities. Hot ash, rocks, and even boiling rain will hit most of our industrial cities for weeks on end. The shear size of the eruption will be the equivalent of a meteor impact, but from within.
Massive earthquakes will rock the planet over and over, so even the inland cities won't be spared. It is possible that hot lava may even fall on some of the coastal cities.
When will the island cool down? Centuries, perhaps mellenia from now. In 75 years, it may cool off enough that the land will be solid. "solid" being an overstatement. Think what a rubber trampoline is like. Try walking on that. That is how the ground will be 75 years from now.
The thickness? About 5-20 feet. Any attempt to land heavy machinery would be fatal, as you'd risk falling through to the lava, and even creating more lava flows. 250-500 years from now, we may see some hardy moss growing, but only in a few spots, as the rocks will still be very hot. It would take a few thousand years for the lava flows to stop and the land be cool enough for vegetation to take hold.
The immediate effects?
There will be so much dust and ash in the athmosphere, that the sun will be blocked out for years. Tempretures at the equator will plunge to well below freezing for a high. The only 'rain' you might see at the poles would be liquid oxygen. This would go on for decades, even centuries as the dust settles. During this time, the areas around the volcano, ironically, may be the only refuge.
The volcano will act as a huge bonfire, which you'll see glowing in the evening and morning sky.
As you finish reading this, the landbridge, coastal cities, and the Penguin Peninsula have become a shallow coastal basin. The waters are just now reaching Bremershaven. Eastern China is under 200 feet of water in some places, 50 feet in most, and the waters are spilling out into the southern sea. Persia is innudated, with that peninsula being completely submerged. Earthquakes of 5.0 to 9.0 in magnitude are devastating interior cities. England, western America, and northern Persia are feeling the effects of massive tidal waves. The jungles of England and China are being flattened by the tsunamis. When all is said and done, muddy waters will remain 50 miles (5 tiles) inland as the waters rush to refill the Tiburon Sea. Even then, the tsunamis will continue. Many of our land improvements will be in ruins, as will everyone elses.
Within hours, and days, it WILL rain, but the rail will be boiling. I would adivse everyone to stay in their homes, and away from windows.
In weeks, dust (hot dust) will pile up like snow. The entire earth will be layered in 6-12 inches of the stuff, as much of it remains in the air. The volcanos WILL continue to billow for some time.
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Narrative: Forward to 1650AD:
The weather is cooling off dramtically, and in the next few years, we should see the last of above freezing tempretures. We have dominated the earth, but have inherited a planet of ice. The island is still hot, and glowing. There are some patchy areas that are several feet thick, but still inhabitable.
