Scientists have mapped one of the most hazardous spots on the globe in unprecedented detail: a 600-mile geologic boundary just off the #PacificNorthwest coast.
Along this fraught stretch, called the #CascadiaSubductionZone, 2 pieces of the #Earth’s crust slide against each other, building up stresses capable of unleashing a catastrophic 9.0-magnitude #earthquake & generating a #tsunami, w/waves as high as 40 feet.
…The entire area, which stretches from Northern #California to #Vancouver Island, is at risk. But the scientists found the geometry of the fault off the coast of #Washington, where the fault is flat & smooth, closer to the surface & extends farther onshore, may be particularly at risk.
…This #FaultZone is hazardous because it’s a “megathrust” #fault. One piece of the #Earth’s crust, a tectonic plate called the Juan de Fuca plate, dives down beneath the North American continental plate.