Where do earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest occur?

Three types of earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest: subduction, deep, and shallow (or surface). (Also described in Panel Text, pg. 3.) Interaction between the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate and the North America continental plate drives these faults.

Are there earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest?

How often do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Northwest? Typically, each year we locate over 1000 earthquakes with magnitude 1.0 or greater in Washington and Oregon. Of these, approximately two dozen are large enough to be felt.

Does Oregon and Washington have earthquakes?

Nearly 17,000 earthquakes of magnitude 1 to 6 have been recorded in Oregon and Washington since 1970. Most small and moderate sized earthquakes in Oregon and Washington occur in the highly-populated Puget Sound region. More than 1,000 earthquakes occur in Washington each year.

What are 3 types of earthquakes the Pacific Northwest can have?

Here in the Pacific Northwest, there are three kinds of earthquakes: subduction zone earthquakes, shallow fault earthquakes, and deep earthquakes. All of these earthquake types can be Big Ones. A fault is a break in the rock beneath our feet.

What causes earthquakes in Pacific Northwest?

Strain from the Cascadia Subduction Zone plays a role in some crustal earthquakes in Western Washington and Oregon but shearing of California as the Pacific Plate grinds along the western edge of the North American Plate to the south plays a bigger role in the generation of crustal earthquakes.

Is the Pacific Northwest ready for the next Cascadia EQ tsunami?

Geologists have also determined the Pacific Northwest is not prepared for such a colossal quake. The tsunami produced could reach heights of 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 m). A 2004 study revealed the potential for relative mean sea level rise (caused by subsidence) along the Cascadia subduction zone.

Where is the fault line in Oregon?

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a 600-mile fault that runs from northern California up to British Columbia and is about 70-100 miles off the Pacific coast shoreline. There have been 41 earthquakes in the last 10,000 years within this fault that have occurred as few as 190 years or as much as 1200 years apart.

What is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest?

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia , Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean .

What is the seismic activity of the Pacific Northwest?

The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, or PNSN, collects and studies ground motions from about 400 seismometers in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. PNSN monitors volcanic and tectonic activity, gives advice and information to the public and policy makers, and works to mitigate earthquake hazard.

Where do earthquakes occur in the Pacific Ocean?

The “Ring of Fire” also called the Circum-Pacific belt, is the zone of earthquakes surrounding the Pacific Ocean — about 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur there. The next most seismic region (5-6% of earthquakes) is the Alpide belt (extends from Mediterranean region, eastward through Turkey, Iran, and northern India.

What type of earthquake was the San Francisco earthquake?

The San Andreas Fault is one of the most well known faults in the San Francisco area. It is a strike slip fault. This is also the fault that is believed to have caused both the 1906 Earthquake & Fire and the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.