Seattle lies near to the boundary between the North American tectonic plate and Juan de Fuca, a large oceanic plate. The 700-mile plate boundary, known as the Cascadia Subduction zone, runs from northern California to Canada, and all along it, the Juan de Fuca plate is trying to force its way under North America.
Is Seattle on a convergent plate boundary?
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a convergent plate boundary in the Pacific Ocean, that stretches from Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California. The Cascadia Subduction Zone can produce large earthquakes when ruptured and could exceed a magnitude 9.0.
Is Seattle on the San Andreas Fault?
The fault, also called the Seattle Fault Zone, is actually several faults in one. Unlike the better-known San Andreas Fault in California, which consists of a single fracture that parallels the coastline, the Seattle Fault Zone is at least four closely related fractures that run west to east for about 30 miles.
What earthquake fault is Seattle on?
The Seattle Fault Zone extends east-west through the middle of the city. A Seattle Fault quake could be as large as M7. 5,160 but less than M7. 0 is more probable.
Is Seattle built on a fault line?
Now it is nearly unanimously accepted in the scientific community that Seattle was unknowingly built directly on top of a large fault. Since that ancient quake, stress has been reloading on the fault for over a thousand years.
What type of plate boundary is Washington State?
convergent plate boundary
The Cascadia Subduction Zone, extending from northern California through western Oregon and Washington to southern British Columbia, is a type of convergent plate boundary. Two parallel mountain ranges have been forming as a result of the Juan de Fuca Plate subducting beneath the edge of North America.
Will Seattle sink?
The Seattle area and South Whidbey Island are also in line to be most affected. The rest of the state will see more low-grade changes, if any, by 2045. The report finds that across the continental U.S., about 311,000 homes are at risk of being inundated with seawater by 2045, or about $135 billion of assessed property.
What would a 9.0 earthquake do to Seattle?
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A 9.0 magnitude subduction earthquake off the Washington coast would generate a tsunami capable of submerging not only coastal areas but also most of the Puget Sound shoreline with churning waves of seawater several feet high for up to 14 hours, says a newly released study.
Would a tsunami reach Seattle?
The report finds tsunami waves would reach the shoreline in fewer than 3 minutes in many places on the eastern side of Bainbridge Island, Elliott Bay, and Alki Point. The report shows inundation from such a tsunami exceeding 20 feet along the shoreline of the greater Seattle area.
When did Seattle have its last earthquake?
o The most recent Seattle Fault earthquake was about 1,100 years ago; o The Seattle Fault has been active about three or four times in the past 3,000 years. Deep quakes are the most common large earthquakes that occur in the Puget Sound region. Quakes larger than 6.0Mm occurred in 1909, 1939, 1946, 1949, 1965 and 2001.
How far inland will the Cascadia earthquake reach?
The shaking will be felt for hundreds of miles – from the coast all the way inland to Boise, Idaho, even to the southeast toward Sacramento in California. As one section of the sea floor drops, so will the ocean water above it creating a massive tsunami that will inundate low-lying coastal communities.
Is Seattle overdue for an earthquake?
According to recent studies, Washington State is 200 years overdue for a 9.7 magnitude earthquake. Experts suggest that this earthquake will occur at the Cascadia subduction zone at some point within the next 50 years.
How likely is the Cascadia earthquake?
Currently, scientists are predicting that there is about a 37 percent chance that a megathrust earthquake of 7.1+ magnitude in this fault zone will occur in the next 50 years. This event will be felt throughout the Pacific Northwest.
How likely is an earthquake in Seattle?
The odds of a 9.0 quake impacting the coastal Pacific Northwest over the next 50 years is said, by seismologists, to be about 14%.
What will happen during Cascadia earthquake?
Because the epicenter of the earthquake will be offshore, by the time the intensity and energy of the earthquake reaches the Seattle and Portland areas, most experts predict it will be in the 6 to 7 magnitude range of intensity. This sudden movement of land usually triggers a tsunami.
What cities will be affected by the Cascadia earthquake?
Coastal Pacific Northwest
Called the Cascadia subduction zone, a big quake along this fault could affect the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Eugene, Salem, and Olympia.
What type of tectonic plate is the Pacific Plate?
oceanic tectonic plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million km2 (40 million sq mi), it is the largest tectonic plate.
What is the name of this tectonic plate?
Answer and Explanation: The seven tectonic plates are the Pacific plate, North American plate, South American plate, African plate, Antarctic plate, Eurasian plate, and the Indo-Australian plate. Most of the plates are named for the continents they contain and the surrounding coast.
What is the plate tectonic setting of Mount Rainier?
Mount Rainier (Figure 2.1) is one of about two dozen recently active volcanoes in the Cascade Range, a volcanic arc formed by subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath the North American plate.
How long until Seattle is underwater?
Climate change is expected to accelerate rising sea levels during the next century. Central estimates indicate that Seattle will experience 10 inches of sea-level rise by 2050, and 28 inches by 2100, and 47 inches by 2150.
What cities will be underwater by 2030?
Cities that could be underwater by 2030
- Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There’s a reason they’re called the Low Countries.
- Basra, Iraq.
- New Orleans, USA.
- Venice, Italy.
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
- Kolkata, India.
- Bangkok, Thailand.
- Georgetown, Guyana.