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"The Big One"

Cascadia Subduction Zone Quake
(aka “The Big One”)

Having been a resident of the Northwest for my entire life, I have been quite sheltered from the real threat that earthquakes present. After all, large earthquakes only happen in places like California or Japan, not in the Northwest right? Despite the fact that I now know this to be an incorrect statement; this was my impression before discussing the topic with my brother. He suggested that I research the “Big” earthquake that was due to hit off the west coast of Canada. After doing some research on the subject I was astonished to find that the scientific community is in relative agreement that a large earthquake will strike the Northwest coast at the Cascadia subduction zone; one that could possibly be the most devastating earthquake in recent history. Here on the west coast we are on a plate edge, but we are also on what is called a subduction zone. A subduction zone is where two plates pass each other by one pl...

Posted by: Sean Wilson

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