[font face=Serif][font size=5]Subduction zone earthquakes off Oregon, Washington more frequent than previous estimates[/font]
[font size=4]08/05/2016[/font]



[font size=3]CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new analysis suggests that massive earthquakes on northern sections of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, affecting areas of the Pacific Northwest that are more heavily populated, are somewhat more frequent than has been believed in the past.

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“These new results are based on much better data than has been available before, and reinforce our confidence in findings regarding the potential for major earthquakes on the Cascadia Subduction Zone,” said Chris Goldfinger, a professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at OSU, and one of the world’s leading experts on tectonic activity of this subduction zone.

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A section of the zone from Newport to Astoria, Oregon, was previously believed to rupture on average about every 400-500 years, and that average has now been reduced to 350 years. A section further north from Astoria to Vancouver Island was previously believed to rupture about every 500-530 years, and that average has now been reduced to 430 years.

The last major earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone - pinpointed in time because it caused a tsunami that raced all the way across the Pacific Ocean to Japan - occurred in January, 1700, more than 315 years ago.

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