1700 Cascadia earthquake - wikipedia 1700 Cascadia earthquake 1700 Cascadia earthquake Local date January 26, 1700 ( 1700 - 01 - 26 ) Local time 21 : 00 local time Magnitude 8.7 -- 9.2 M Epicenter 45 ° N 125 ° W ﻿ / ﻿ 45 ° N 125 ° W ﻿ / 45 ; - 125 Coordinates : 45 ° N 125 ° W ﻿ / ﻿ 45 ° N 125 ° W ﻿ / 45 ; - 125 Fault Cascadia subduction zone Type Megathrust Tsunami Yes The 1700 Cascadia earthquake occurred along the Cascadia subduction zone on January 26 with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.7 -- 9.2. The megathrust earthquake involved the Juan de Fuca Plate from mid-Vancouver Island, south along the Pacific Northwest coast as far as northern California. The length of the fault rupture was about 1,000 kilometers ( 620 miles ), with an average slip of 20 meters ( 66 ft ). The earthquake caused a tsunami which struck the coast of Japan and may also be linked to the Bonneville Slide and the Tseax Cone eruption in British Columbia. Contents 1 Evidence 1.1 Scientific research 1.2 Cultural research 2 Future threats 3 See also 4 References 5 External links 5.1 General 5.2 Native and Japanese accounts 5.3 Current hazards Evidence The 1700 earthquake took place at about 21 : 00 on January 26, 1700 ( NS ). Although there are no written records for the region from the time, the timing of the earthquake has been inferred from Japanese records of a tsunami that does not correlate with any other Pacific Rim quake. The Japanese records exist primarily in the modern - day Iwate Prefecture, in communities such as Tsugaruishi, Kuwagasaki and Ōtsuchi. Cascadia subduction zone Scientific research The most important clue linking the tsunami in Japan and the earthquake in the Pacific Northwest comes from studies of tree rings ( dendrochronology ), which show that several `` ghost forests '' of red cedar trees in Oregon and Washington, killed by lowering of coastal forests into the tidal zone by the earthquake, have outermost growth rings that formed in 1699, the last growing season before the tsunami. This includes both inland stands of trees, such as one on the Copalis River in Washington, and pockets of tree stumps that are now under the ocean surface and become exposed only at low tide. Sediment layers in these locations demonstrate a pattern consistent with seismic and tsunami events around this time. Core samples from the ocean floor, as well as debris samples from some earthquake - induced landslides in the Pacific Northwest, also support this timing of the event. Archaeological research in the region has uncovered evidence of several coastal villages having been flooded and abandoned around 1700. Cultural research Local Native American and First Nations groups residing in Cascadia did not have a written tradition of record - keeping, so the event was not documented locally like the Japanese tsunami. However, numerous oral traditions describing a great earthquake and tsunami - like flooding exist among indigenous coastal peoples from British Columbia to Northern California. These do not specify an exact date, and not all earthquake stories in the region can be definitively isolated as referring to the 1700 quake in particular ; however, virtually all of the native peoples in the region have at least one traditional story of an event much stronger and more destructive than any other that their community had ever experienced. Some of the stories contain temporal clues -- such as an estimate of how many generations had passed since the event -- which can be traced back to a date range in the late 1600s or early 1700s, or which concur with the event 's timing in other ways. The Huu - ay - aht legend of a large earthquake and ocean wave devastating their settlements at Pachina Bay, for instance, speaks of the event taking place on a winter evening shortly after the village 's residents had gone to sleep. Masit was the only community on Pachina Bay not to have been wiped out, as it sat on a mountainside approximately 75 feet above sea level. Nobody else from Pachina Bay survived the event -- Anacla aq sop, a young woman who happened to be staying at Kiix ? in on the more tsunami - sheltered Barkley Sound at the time of the event, came to be known as the last living member of her community. Kwakwaka'wakw ( Kwakiutl ) stories from the north end of Vancouver Island report a night - time earthquake that caused virtually all houses in their community to collapse ; Cowichan stories from Vancouver Island 's inner coast speak of a nighttime earthquake, causing a landslide that buried an entire village. Makah stories from Washington speak of a great night - time earthquake, of which the only survivors were those who fled inland before the tsunami hit. The Quileute people in Washington have a story about a flood so powerful that villagers in their canoes were swept inland all the way to Hood Canal. Ethnographic research has focused on a common regional pattern of art and mythology depicting a great battle between a thunderbird and a whale, as well as cultural signifiers such as earthquake - inspired ritual masks and dances. Future threats Earthquake recurrence est. year interval ( years ) 1700 AD > 318 1310 AD 390 810 AD 500 400 AD 410 170 BC 570 600 BC 430 The geological record reveals that `` great earthquakes '' ( those with moment magnitude 8 or higher ) occur in the Cascadia subduction zone about every 500 years on average, often accompanied by tsunamis. There is evidence of at least 13 events at intervals from about 300 to 900 years with an average of 570 -- 590 years. Previous earthquakes are estimated to have been in 1310 AD, 810 AD, 400 AD, 170 BC and 600 BC. Cascadia earthquake sources As seen in the 1700 quake, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, subduction zone earthquakes can cause large tsunamis, and many coastal areas in the region have prepared tsunami evacuation plans in anticipation of a possible future Cascadia earthquake. However, the major nearby cities, notably Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Victoria, and Tacoma, which are located on inland waterways rather than on the coast, would be sheltered from the full brunt of a tsunami. These cities do have many vulnerable structures, especially bridges and unreinforced brick buildings ; consequently, most of the damage to the cities would probably be from the earthquake itself. One expert asserts that buildings in Seattle are vastly inadequate even to withstand an event of the size of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, let alone any more powerful one. Kenneth Murphy, who directs FEMA 's Region X, the division responsible for Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska, put it quite dramatically : `` Our operating assumption is that everything west of Interstate 5 will be toast. '' Recent findings conclude that the Cascadia subduction zone is more complex and volatile than previously believed. In 2010 geologists predicted a 37 percent chance of an M8. 2 + event within 50 years, and a 10 to 15 percent chance that the entire Cascadia subduction zone will rupture with an M9+ event within the same time frame. 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 ( cause by subsidence ) along the Cascadia subduction zone. It postulated that cities on the west coast of Vancouver Island, such as Tofino and Ucluelet, are at risk for a 1 -- 2 m subsidence, relative to mean sea level. The confirmation of their oral traditions about a great earthquake has led many aboriginal groups in the area to initiate projects to relocate their coastal communities to higher and safer ground in preparation for the predicted next earthquake. The Huu - ay - aht people have rebuilt their administration building on a high point of land in their territory ; coastal residents are immediately evacuated to this building whenever a tsunami warning is issued, as an interim measure toward eventually relocating all residents to higher ground. The Quileute people secured a land grant from the federal government of the United States in 2012 to move their settlement inland, both as protection from a future tsunami threat and because of more frequent flooding on the Quillayute River. Some other subduction zones have such earthquakes every 100 to 200 years ; the longer interval results from slower plate motions. The rate of convergence between the Juan de Fuca Plate and the North American Plate is 60 millimetres ( 2.4 in ) per year. See also 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake Geology of the Pacific Northwest List of earthquakes in Canada List of earthquakes in the United States List of historical earthquakes List of historical tsunamis Lists of earthquakes Neskowin Ghost Forest References ^ Jump up to : National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service ( NGDC / WDS ), Significant Earthquake Database, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA, doi : 10.7289 / V5TD9V7K Jump up ^ Atwater et al. 2005, p. 98 Jump up ^ Atwater, B.F. ; Musumi - Rokkaku, S. ; Satake, K. ; Yoshinobu, T. ; Kazue, U. ; Yamaguchi, D.K. ( 2005 ). The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 -- Japanese Clues to a Parent Earthquake in North America. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1707. United States Geological Survey -- University of Washington Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 295 - 98535 - 0. Jump up ^ Hill, Richard L. ( 2002 - 05 - 15 ). `` Great Cascadia Earthquake Penrose Conference ''. The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2008 - 10 - 24. Jump up ^ Kenji Satake ; Kunihiko Shimazaki ; Yoshinobu Tsuji ; Kazue Ueda ( 18 January 1996 ). `` Time and size of a giant earthquake in Cascadia inferred from Japanese tsunami records of January 1700 ''. Nature. Nature Publishing Group. 379 ( 6562 ) : 246 -- 249. Bibcode : 1996Natur. 379... 246S. doi : 10.1038 / 379246a0. ^ Jump up to : Kathryn Schulz ( July 20, 2015 ). `` The Really Big One ''. The New Yorker. ^ Jump up to : `` Jan. 26, 1700 : How Scientists Know When The Last Big Earthquake Happened Here ''. Oregon Public Broadcasting, January 26, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Ghosts of Tsunamis Past ''. American Museum of Natural History. ^ Jump up to : Ruth S. Ludwin ; Robert Dennis ; Deborah Carver ; Alan D. McMillan ; Robert Losey ; John Clague ; Chris Jonientz - Trisler ; Janine Bowechop ; Jacilee Wray ; Karen James ( 2005 ), `` Dating the 1700 Cascadia Earthquake : Great Coastal Earthquakes in Native Stories '' ( PDF ), Seismological Research Letters, Seismological Society of America, 76 ( 2 ) : 140 -- 148, doi : 10.1785 / gssrl. 76.2. 140 Jump up ^ http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/NAlegends.html ^ Jump up to : Meissner, Dirk ( 18 January 2015 ), `` Earth will rip open like a zipper, expert says, when overdue Vancouver Island quake strikes '', Toronto Star, retrieved 19 January 2015 Jump up ^ `` Prepare for next tsunami, says chief ''. Raven 's Eye, Vol. 8, No. 9, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Cascadia 's Locked Fault Means Massive Earthquake Is Due in Pacific Northwest : Seismologists ''. Indian Country Today Media Network, December 16, 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Haida Gwaii Quake Brings Home the Importance of Quileute Relocation Legislation ''. Indian Country Today Media Network, November 6, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Get ready for the Big One ''. The Globe and Mail, April 22, 2011. Jump up ^ Witter, Robert C. ; Kelsey, Harvey M. ; Hemphill - Haley, Eileen ( October 2003 ). `` Great Cascadia earthquakes and tsunamis of the past 6700 years, Coquille River estuary, southern coastal Oregon ''. Geological Society of America Bulletin. The Geological Society of America. 115 ( 10 ) : 1289 -- 1306. Bibcode : 2003GSAB... 115.1289 W. doi : 10.1130 / b25189. 1. Retrieved 5 February 2012. Jump up ^ Yanev, Peter ( 27 March 2010 ). `` Shake, Rattle, Seattle ''. The New York Times. p. WK11. Jump up ^ Schulz, Kathryn ( 20 July 2015 ). `` The Really Big One ''. The New Yorker. Jump up ^ `` Odds Are 1 - In - 3 That A Huge Quake Will Hit Northwest In Next 50 Years ''. Oregon State University. 24 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 2010 - 05 - 24. Jump up ^ `` Odds are about 1 - in - 3 that mega-earthquake will hit Pacific Northwest in next 50 years, scientists say '' ( Press release ). Oregon State University. May 25, 2010 -- via Science Daily. Jump up ^ `` Perilous Situation ''. The Oregonian. 2009 - 04 - 19. Archived from the original on 23 April 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 12. Jump up ^ Leonard, Lucinda J. ; Hyndman, Roy D. ; Mazzotti, Stéphane ( 2004 ). `` Coseismic subsidence in the 1700 great Cascadia earthquake : Coastal estimates versus elastic dislocation models ''. GSA Bulletin. 116 ( 5 -- 6 ) : 655 -- 670. Bibcode : 2004GSAB... 116... 655L. doi : 10.1130 / B25369. 1. Jump up ^ Munro, Margaret ( March 8, 2012 ). `` Monster earthquake threat looms over B.C. coastal communities ''. Vancouver Sun. Jump up ^ Kate Potter ( September 2007 ). `` The Big One : Understanding Why The Big Earthquake Is Predicted For Vancouver ''. The Science Creative Quarterly. Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 2009 - 05 - 18. External links General Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes : A magnitude 9.0 earthquake scenario -- The Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup 2005 Tsunami Animation : Cascadia 1700 -- Pacific Tsunami Warning Center USGS Scientist Shows Evidence for 300 - Year - Old Tsunami to Participants in International Tsunami Training Institute -- USGS Native and Japanese accounts Native American Stories expand history -- Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Native American Legends of Tsunamis in Pacific NW -- United States Geological Survey Fault slip and seismic moment of the 1700 Cascadia earthquake inferred from Japanese tsunami descriptions -- Journal of Geophysical Research Japanese Shipwreck Adds To Evidence Of Great Cascadia Earthquake In 1700 -- Science Daily Current hazards Surviving a Tsunami -- Lessons from Chile, Hawaii, and Japan -- United States Geological Survey Big earthquake coming sooner than we thought, Oregon geologist says -- The Oregonian Earthquakes in Canada Historical 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1732 Montreal 1872 North Cascades 20th Century 1918 Vancouver Island 1925 Charlevoix -- Kamouraska 1929 Grand Banks 1933 Baffin Bay 1935 Timiskaming 1944 Cornwall -- Massena 1946 Vancouver Island 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands 1985 Nahanni 1988 Saguenay 1989 Ungava 1997 Cap - Rouge 21st Century 2000 Kipawa 2001 Nisqually 2007 -- 2008 Nazko 2010 Central Canada 2012 Haida Gwaii Earthquakes in the United States Historical 1638 New Hampshire 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1755 Cape Ann 1811 -- 12 New Madrid 1838 San Andreas 1857 Fort Tejon 1865 Memphis 1867 Manhattan, Kansas 1868 Hawaii 1868 Hayward 1872 Lone Pine 1872 North Cascades 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1892 Laguna Salada 1892 Vacaville -- Winters 1898 Mare Island 20th - century 1906 San Francisco 1906 Aleutian Islands 1909 Wabash River 1915 Pleasant Valley 1916 Irondale 1918 San Jacinto 1925 Santa Barbara 1931 Valentine 1932 Eureka 1933 Long Beach 1935 Helena 1936 State Line 1940 El Centro 1940 New Hampshire 1944 Cornwall -- Massena 1946 Aleutian Islands 1947 Wisconsin 1948 Desert Hot Springs 1949 Olympia 1952 Kern County 1957 Andreanof Islands 1957 San Francisco 1959 Hebgen Lake 1964 Alaska 1965 Rat Islands 1965 Puget Sound 1968 Illinois 1969 Santa Rosa 1971 San Fernando 1973 Point Mugu 1975 Near Islands 1975 Morris 1975 Hawaii 1979 Coyote Lake 1979 Imperial Valley 1980 Eureka 1983 Coalinga 1983 Borah Peak 1984 Morgan Hill 1986 North Palm Springs 1986 Chalfant Valley 1987 Whittier Narrows 1989 Loma Prieta 1990 Upland 1991 Sierra Madre 1992 Cape Mendocino 1992 Landers 1992 Big Bear 1993 Scotts Mills 1993 Klamath Falls 1994 Northridge 1995 Marathon 1996 Duvall 1998 Pymatuning 1999 Hector Mine 2000 Yountville 21st - century 2001 Nisqually 2002 Denali 2003 Alabama 2003 San Simeon 2006 Gulf of Mexico 2006 Kiholo Bay 2007 Alum Rock 2008 Illinois 2008 Chino Hills 2010 Eureka 2010 Baja California 2010 Indiana 2011 Colorado 2011 Virginia 2011 Oklahoma 2014 Aleutian Islands 2014 Southeast Alaska 2014 South Napa 2016 Oklahoma 2016 Hawthorne 2018 Alaska Swarms 2001 Enola 2008 Reno 2010 -- 11 Guy - Greenbrier 2012 Brawley 2009 -- 18 Oklahoma Earthquakes in Washington ( state ) 1700 Cascadia ( 8.7 -- 9.2 ) 1872 North Cascades ( 6.5 -- 7.0 ) 1946 Vancouver Island ( 7.3 ) 1949 Olympia ( 6.7 ) 1965 Puget Sound ( 6.7 ) 1996 Duvall ( 5.1 ) 2001 Nisqually ( 6.8 ) Early history of Oregon ( 1500 -- 1806 ) Topics Fur trade Lady Washington Columbia Rediviva Northwest Passage Discovery Age of Discovery Chatham Events Bridge of the Gods 1700 Cascadia earthquake Nootka Convention Vancouver Expedition Entering the Columbia by Gray Lewis and Clark Expedition Places Celilo Falls Clatsop Plains Clatsop Spit Columbia Bar Columbia River Fort Clatsop Mount Mazama Nootka Sound Sauvie Island Willamette Falls Willamette Valley People William Robert Broughton Toussaint Charbonneau William Clark Chief Comcomly Captain James Cook Sir Francis Drake Robert Gray Robert Haswell Bruno de Heceta Joseph Ingraham John Kendrick Meriwether Lewis John Meares Quadra Sacagawea George Vancouver Oregon history Native peoples history History to 1806 Pioneer history Modern history Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1700_Cascadia_earthquake&oldid=832160956 '' Categories : 1700 in Canada Megathrust earthquakes in Canada Megathrust earthquakes in the United States Earthquakes in California Tsunamis in Japan 1700 earthquakes Earthquakes in Washington ( state ) Earthquakes in Oregon Earthquakes in British Columbia 1700 tsunamis 17th century in California Hidden categories : Articles on pre-1900 earthquakes Coordinates not on Wikidata Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Français 日本 語 Svenska Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 24 March 2018, at 05 : 43. 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Question: what is the largest magnitude earthquake that has occurred in the pacific northwest
Answer: The 1700 Cascadia earthquake