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What's up with the erupting volcano off the Oregon Coast? When will it break the surface and form an island? Will the new land be part of Oregon, or up for grabs to whoever wants to plant their flag?
—Richard Feder, Fort Lee, N.J.
Before I answer your question, I should respond to readers who misinterpreted last week's column on lethal injection.
To be clear, I floated a revival of the guillotine not because I'm a bloodthirsty fascist, but because making executions look pleasant shields us from their moral consequences: "Don't worry, Oregon, we sent convicted killer Gary Haugen to live with a nice farm family in the country, where he'll have plenty of room to run and play!"
Now, on to this eruption. It's obvious, Richard, you're already imagining yourself as emperor of your own sovereign island, complete with skull-shaped volcano, scantily clad henchmodels, and superspies tied up in the basement.
But before you start building your death ray, be aware that the volcano in question is unlikely ever to breach the waves.
Sure, Axial Seamount rises an impressive 3,600 feet above the ocean floor—but that still leaves 4,600 feet between its summit and the surface. Moreover, the seamount is just one of a chain of underwater peaks that have formed over the eons as the Pacific plate drifts over the Cobb hotspot. None so far has achieved island status.
But let's say that, somehow, this volcano defies expectations and rises above the briny. Who would own it? By convention, a nation's territorial waters extend 200 miles from its shores. Axial Seamount, however, is 300 miles out.
Theoretically, that would make it terra nullius under international law, meaning that sovereignty would devolve to the first nation to occupy it. In practice, though, it's hard to imagine the U.S. allowing, say, North Korea to build the island's first Walmart.
QUESTIONS? Send them to dr.know@wweek.com
WWeek 2015
