I was prepared to write your comment off as just...well, I didn't really think Metzen would be ripping off Dragonlance. Then I went to Wikipedia and looked up the Cataclysm of DragonLance. Here is a quote from Wikipedia's article:

"Soon after the Kingpriest made his demand, a "fiery mountain"[1] struck Istar. The city and all the land around it driven deep into the ground, and the sea roared in to fill the gap. Thick, red soil was churned up by the water, giving it a reddish tint. This new body of water became known as the Blood Sea of Istar. Where the Temple of the Kingpriest once stood, there was a perpetual, massive whirlpool that kept the red soil churned up, leaving the Blood Sea permanently blood-colored. On the opposite side of the continent of Ansalon, the Kingdom of Ergoth was broken from the mainland, and split in two. More water flooded inland and created the Newsea. The city of Caergoth, an inland farming city, suddenly found itself on the ocean's doorstep. To the south, the thriving port city of Tarsis found that the sea had retreated, and they were now surrounded by plains as far as the eye could see. The effects of the Cataclysm continue to be felt on Krynn to this day."

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataclysm_(Dragonlance)