Convergent plate boundary that stretches from northern Vancouver Island to Northern California
Area of the Cascadia subduction zone (left) and a USGS scenario ShakeMap for a M9 event
45°N124°W / 45°N 124°W / 45; -124
The Cascadia subduction zone is a 960 km (600 mi) fault at a convergent plate boundary, about 110–160 km (70–100 mi) off the Pacific coast, that stretches from northern Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California in the United States. It is capable of producing 9.0+ magnitude earthquakes and tsunamis that could reach 30 m (98 ft). The Oregon Department of Emergency Management estimates shaking would last 5–7 minutes along the coast, with strength and intensity decreasing further from the epicenter.[1] It is a very long, sloping subduction zone where the Explorer, Juan de Fuca, and Gorda plates move to the east and slide below the much larger mostly continental North American Plate. The zone varies in width and lies offshore beginning near Cape Mendocino, Northern California, passing through Oregon and Washington, and terminating at about Vancouver Island in British Columbia.[2]
The Explorer, Juan de Fuca, and Gorda plates are some of the remnants of the vast ancient Farallon Plate which is now mostly subducted under the North American Plate. The North American Plate itself is moving slowly in a generally southwest direction, sliding over the smaller plates as well as the huge oceanic Pacific Plate (which is moving in a northwest direction) in other locations such as the San Andreas Fault in central and southern California.
Tectonic processes active in the Cascadia subduction zone region include accretion, subduction, deep earthquakes, and active volcanism of the Cascades. This volcanism has included such notable eruptions as Mount Mazama (Crater Lake) about 7,500 years ago, the Mount Meager massif (Bridge River Vent) about 2,350 years ago, and Mount St. Helens in 1980.[3] Major cities affected by a disturbance in this subduction zone include Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon.
^"Oregon Department of Emergency Management : Cascadia Subduction Zone : Hazards and Preparedness : State of Oregon".
^Cite error: The named reference Schulz2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Cascadia Subduction Zone Volcanism in British Columbia". Archived from the original on 2010-06-02. Retrieved 2008-12-18. USGS
and 28 Related for: Cascadia subduction zone information
45°N 124°W / 45°N 124°W / 45; -124 The Cascadiasubductionzone is a 960 km (600 mi) fault at a convergent plate boundary, about 110–160 km (70–100 mi)...
The 1700 Cascadia earthquake occurred along the Cascadiasubductionzone on January 26, 1700, with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.7–9.2. The megathrust...
bioregional movement based within the Cascadia bioregion of the Pacific Northwest of North America Cascadiasubductionzone, a convergent plate boundary that...
Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet. The CascadiaSubductionZone intersects the San Andreas fault at the Mendocino Triple Junction...
process occurs is known as a subductionzone, and its surface expression is known as an arc-trench complex. The process of subduction has created most of the...
the softer ground, releasing 0.5 million megatons of TNT energy. Cascadiasubductionzone List of tsunamis Megathrust earthquake Megatsunami NOAA Center...
well over 700 miles (1,100 km). The arc formed due to subduction along the Cascadiasubductionzone. Although taking its name from the Cascade Range, this...
some apparent changes along the Cascadiasubductionzone. At issue is the current plate configuration and rate of subduction but based on rock composition...
lies in the eastern, North American region of the Cascadiasubductionzone. ETS events in Cascadia were observed to reoccur cyclically with a period of...
are completely buried and lack bathymetric expression as in the Cascadiasubductionzone, which is completely filled with sediments. Despite their appearance...
westward from a triple junction with the San Andreas Fault and the Cascadiasubductionzone to the southern end of the Gorda Ridge. It continues on west of...
by transform strike slip movement, and the Cascadiasubductionzone by a convergent plate boundary subduction movement. The Gorda plate is subducting, towards...
coincidental with the continental Mohorovicic discontinuity. At the Cascadiasubductionzone, the distribution of LFEs form a surface roughly parallel to intercrustal...
portion of the western side of the North American Plate at the Cascadiasubductionzone. It is named after the explorer of the same name. One of the smallest...
Plate, creating the Cascadiasubductionzone from mid Vancouver Island, British Columbia down to Northern California. This subductionzone was responsible...
(also known as the Gorda Basin event). The easterly side is the Cascadiasubductionzone where the plate subducts under the North American Plate in northern...
time extinguishing the fires. The quakes demonstrated that the Cascadiasubductionzone is both capable of producing large earthquakes and generating tsunamis...
The Pacific Northwest (PNW), sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific...
States. The stumps were likely created when an earthquake of the Cascadiasubductionzone abruptly lowered the trees, that were then covered by mud from...
subducts under the Caribbean Plate in the Lesser Antilles subductionzone. The Cascadiasubductionzone is where the oceanic Juan de Fuca, Gorda and Explorer...
slope. Geologic evidence for the occurrence of earthquakes on the CascadiaSubductionZone is off Oregon and Washington, and includes sedimentary deposits...
The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) (/ˈmædrɪd/), sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate...
known damaging earthquakes to have occurred in the Cascadiasubductionzone since the 1700 Cascadia earthquake are the 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake...
terrane accreted, converting an intra-oceanic subduction trench into the current Cascadiasubductionzone and creating a slab window. Geology portal Izanagi...
angle to the subductionzone. Unlike most subductionzones worldwide, there is no oceanic trench present along the continental margin in Cascadia. Instead...
coast of Vancouver Island in Barkley Sound, along the Cascadiasubductionzone, on the Cascadia Basin abyssal plain, and on the Endeavour segment of the...
basic and applied science research on earthquake hazards at the CascadiaSubductionZone, (ii) promote access to careers in the geosciences, especially...
Global Information
