The 1700 Cascadia earthquake occurred along the Cascadia subduction zone on January 26, 1700, with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.7–9.2. The megathrust earthquake involved the Juan de Fuca Plate from mid-Vancouver Island, south along the Pacific Northwest coast as far as northern California. The length of the fault rupture was about 1,000 kilometers, with an average slip of 20 meters (66 ft).
An active fault is a fault that is likely to become the source of another earthquake sometime in the future. Geologists commonly consider faults to be active if there has been movement observed or evidence of seismic activity during the last 10,000 years.
The Cascadia subduction zone is a 960 km fault at a convergent plate boundary, about 112-160 km off the Pacific Shore, 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 30m. 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. 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.
Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthquakes are the planet's most powerful, with moment magnitudes (Mw) that can exceed 9.0. Since 1900, all earthquakes of magnitude 9.0 or greater have been megathrust earthquakes.
Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian Government. It carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowledge of the nation.
The Mount Meager massif is a group of volcanic peaks in the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc of western North America, it is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Vancouver at the northern end of the Pemberton Valley and reaches a maximum elevation of 2,680 m (8,790 ft). The massif is capped by several eroded volcanic edifices, including lava domes, volcanic plugs and overlapping piles of lava flows; these form at least six major summits including Mount Meager which is the second highest of the massif.
Brian E. Tucker is an American seismologist specializing in disaster prevention. He is also the founder of GeoHazards International (GHI), a non-profit dedicated to ending preventable death and suffering caused by natural disasters in the world’s most vulnerable communities.
The Geological Association of Canada (GAC) is a learned society that promotes and develops the geological sciences in Canada. The organization holds conferences, meetings and exhibitions for the discussion of geological problems and the exchange of views in matters related to geology. It publishes various journals and collections of learned papers dealing with geology.
James (Jim) W.H. Monger is an emeritus scientist of the Geological Survey of Canada and a world leader in the application of plate tectonics to the study of mountain chain formation.
Raymond Alexander Price, is a Canadian geologist. He has used his research on the structure and tectonics of North America’s lithosphere to produce extensive geological maps. He has also provided guidance for nuclear fuel waste disposal and reports on the human contribution to Global warming.
The Anahim hotspot is a hypothesized hotspot in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It has been proposed as the candidate source for volcanism in the Anahim Volcanic Belt, a 300 kilometres long chain of volcanoes and other magmatic features that have undergone erosion. This chain extends from the community of Bella Bella in the west to near the small city of Quesnel in the east. While most volcanoes are created by geological activity at tectonic plate boundaries, the Anahim hotspot is located hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest plate boundary.
Catherine Hickson is a Canadian volcanologist, formerly with the Geological Survey of Canada, part of Natural Resources Canada. Since 2014, she has been the chief operating officer for Dajin Resources Corp. and president, Tuya Terra Geo Corp. Hickson studied at the University of British Columbia and received her PhD in geology and volcanology in 1987.
Iain Simpson Stewart is a Scottish geologist who is currently Jordan-UK El Hassan bin Talal Research Chair in Sustainability at the Royal Scientific Society in Jordan. He is a UNESCO Chair in Geoscience and Society and formerly a member of the Scientific Board of UNESCO's International Geoscience Programme. Described as geology's "rock star", Stewart is best known to the public as the presenter of a number of science programmes for the BBC, notably the BAFTA nominated Earth: The Power of the Planet (2007).
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, although backgrounds in physics, chemistry, biology, and other sciences are also useful. Field research is an important component of geology, although many subdisciplines incorporate laboratory and digitalized work. Geologists can be classified in a larger group of scientists, called geoscientists.
John Francis Cassidy is a Canadian seismologist and an adjunct professor of the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. He lives in the town of Sidney on southern Vancouver Island and is employed by Natural Resources Canada. Cassidy has participated in mapping the structure of the Earth using seismic waves, earthquake hazard research, working with engineers and emergency response organizations and public outreach activities, including the media, educators and the public. Throughout his work with the Geological Survey of Canada in the past 20 years, Cassidy has published over 100 public and scientific interest articles.
Jack Gordon Souther was an American-born Canadian geologist, volcanologist, professor and engineer. He contributed significantly to the early understanding of recent volcanic activity in the Canadian Cordillera. Many of his publications continue to be regarded as classics in their field, even now several decades after they were written.
The Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) is a scientific agency for the State of Delaware, located at the University of Delaware (UD) which conducts geologic and hydrologic research, service, and exploration. The mission of the DGS is to provide objective earth science information, advice, and service to citizens, policymakers, industries, and educational institutions of Delaware. The DGS became formally affiliated with the university's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE) in July 2008. Most DGS scientists have secondary faculty appointments in the College's Department of Geological Sciences.
George Plafker is an American geologist and seismologist who has made significant contributions to both fields, with research focused on subduction, tsunami, and the geology of Alaska. Following prolonged study of the region of the 1964 Alaska earthquake, Plafker correctly concluded that the largest earthquakes are the result of fault slip at convergent boundaries. This was at a time when the theory of plate tectonics was still not completely accepted by the scientific community. Additional studies were done in Chile in the late 1960s regarding the series of earthquakes there.
Pachena Bay is located 13 km (8.1 mi) south of Bamfield in Pacific Rim National Park at the southern end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It was the location of a First Nation's village that was destroyed by a tsunami in 1700.
Danny Hilman Natawidjaja is an Indonesian geologist who is an expert in earthquake geology and geotectonics at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Research Center for Geotechnology.
