Chapter FIFTEEN

EARTHQUAKES


Oregon is one of the states with the highest risk of earthquakes. Some of the faults in Oregon include:

The Portland Hills fault zone that is located beneath Portland.
The Gales Creek fault found on the east side of the Coast Range.
The Cascadia fault that runs off the coast of Oregon from Coos Bay to Newport.

The fourth most important is the Mount Angel fault zone found in the Willamette Valley.

Shows the states and which are at higher risk for earthquakes.

The Cascadia fault is the fault that is thought will produce the largest earthquake in the future. Some geographers say that the earthquake it would produce is equal to the Japan 2011 earthquake. 

The Cascadia fault refers to the Cascade Range that was formed as a result of the subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate and Gorda plate under the North American Plate. Oregon is located on the North American plate. 

There have been 22 major earthquakes on the Cascadia fault over the past 10,000 years and they were located in the southern part of the fault. Oregon State University scientists have determined that there is approximately a 40-percent chance of there being a large earthquake in the state in the next fifty years.

Sources: 

"CascadiaSubduction-Sci-52501." CascadiaSubduction-Sci-52501. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://ajdubre.tripod.com/Physics/CascadiaSubduction-Sci-52501.html>.

"Pacific Northwest Geologic Mapping and Urban Hazards." Pacific Northwest Geologic Mapping and Urban Hazards. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/pacnw/resfzno.html>.

Staff, The Week's Editorial. "Is a Major Earthquake Going to Hit Oregon?" Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 03 Aug. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/major-earthquake-going-hit-oregon-080500971.html>.

Images:

U.S. Map-

"Smithsonian.com." Surprising Science Earthquake in Washington DC Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/08/earthquake-in-washington-d-c/>.

Fault Line-

"CascadiaSubduction-Sci-52501." CascadiaSubduction-Sci-52501. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <http://ajdubre.tripod.com/Physics/CascadiaSubduction-Sci-52501.html>.