Where in the Pacific Northwest Will the Next Monstrous Earthquake Strike?
By Dan Robitzski November 27, 2017 Planet Earth
Scientists have known that The Really big One, a monstrous 9.0-magnitude earthquake, may hit the Pacific Northwest within the next several decades. New geological research just determined that the quake is likely to strike northern Oregon or Washington State.
The Pacific Northwest sits atop the Cascadia subduction zone, which is a region where two tectonic plates collide; one plate is being pushed deep into the Earth’s mantle, beneath the other slab. The two plates get locked together, and when one gives way, an earthquake will occur. The Cascadia subduction zone caused a massive quake (likely a magnitude 9) on Jan. 26, 1700, and it’s possible that another might occur within decades.
That quake is likely to happen farther north than the one in 1700, according to a new analysis of the sediment found where the two plates meet.
