2.12 Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest: the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Juan de Fuca Plate
Channel: Snow Mountain
Date: 2020-08-21

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2.12 Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest: the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Juan de Fuca Plate

The Cascadia subduction zone is very similar to the convergent margin in central Chile, where the oceanic slab descends at a shallow angle of about 10 to 15 degrees. In Chile, the effects of large compressional forces are being felt regularly in the form of strong earthquakes. The strongest earthquake ever recorded occurred there in 1960, Mw 9.5.

Research predicts that subduction at shallow dip angles results in an environment that is conducive to great earthquakes, Mw 8.0 or greater. A partial explanation lies in the fact that in such settings, a large area of contact exists between the upper plate and the subducting slab.

http://xue-lin.com/2-12-earthquakes-in-the-pacific-northwest-the-cascadia-subduction-zone-and-juan-de-fuca-plate


For further information on the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the Juan de Fuca plate, I recommend a highly acclaimed modern documentary from GenSix Productions:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/cascadiathebigone

Includes interviews with highly regarded seismologists and volcanologists from the USA, who give first hand knowledge of what would happen if and when one of the Cascade Volcanoes erupt.

Mega-Thrust earthquakes, lahar flows, volcanic explosions, a giant tsunami, economic calamity – is the USA ready for such a natural disaster? The Cascade Volcanoes and the Juan de Fuca Subduction Zone.

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