Quote:
Originally Posted by Esteban
They say the big one is still to come.
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The Oregon coast is overdue for a major earthquake and the resulting tsunami. The last one was in 1700 and the geologists say the pattern is one every 300 years or so. The cause is the Cascadia tectonic plate sliding under the North American plate and "catching" -- then every 300 years or so, it releases like a spring with deadly consequences.
Native Americans did not have good records of the date, but the last one's tsunami reached Japan and they had good records.
In recent years, highway 101 along the coast has been posted with signs indicating where the elevation is such that it is a tsunami safe zone.
There are no large cities along the Oregon coast, but coastal resorts and beaches are crowded in the summer. There's a coastal mountain range between the coast and my place, but the earthquake portion could be quite powerful and may have impact here.