Friday, December 6

A massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck northern California yesterday, and while little damage was done, it is further proof that "The Big One" could be on the way.

The earthquake struck around 30 miles west of Cape Mendocino, located in northern California's Humboldt County, at a depth of around 6.2 miles. The shaking began at 10:44 am local time and continued on, knocking items off stores shelves and sending furniture toppling over on the Mendocino coast. Minimal structural damage was done, though, limiting the impact of the quake.

Tsunami warnings quickly came up on every phone across the area, sending beachgoers and surfers scrambling for higher ground. However, no tsunami arrived, and the warning was later retracted. Officials often send out overly dramatic tsunami warnings after a major earthquake, but they are often retracted or dialed back once more information is gained on the situation.

The West Coast of the United States is located in one of the most high-risk areas for earthquakes in the world. Earthquakes are caused when tectonic plates slide against each other, which can set off rumblings between them.

The Pacific Northwest, which includes Washington and Oregon, is on the border of the North American and Juan de Fuca plates, the latter of which is sliding under the North American plate. This area is known as the Cascadia subduction zone. Meanwhile, southern California is divided by the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates. Arguably the most famous of faults, the San Andreas Fault begins around the Bay Area and moves east through California, passing east of Los Angeles and splitting California into two tectonic plates. Meanwhile, the Hayward Fault stretches through Berkeley and Oakland, while the San Jacinto Fault splits out of the San Andreas Fault into southern California. However, the location where this earthquake struck is located in the Mendocino triple junction-- a zone where the Gorda plate, Pacific plate, and North American plate all converge at one point.

These three faults, combined, are some of the most dangerous faults in the world, and recent research shows that they could end up setting off each other. However, the true possibility that scares locals is the possibility of The Big One. Seismologists have been talking about The Big One for years, and it could do massive damage when it occurs. When a plate such as the Juan de Fuca plate subducts under another one, pressure builds up, and eventually that pressure becomes too much for the tectonic plates to hold. The plates spring back from each other, sparking an earthquake with a magnitude upwards of 8.0 and a large tsunami that would devastate the Pacific Northwest.

However, if there is enough pressure built up, the entire subduction zone will rupture, sparking a huge quake between 8.7 and 9.2 on the Richter scale. This possibility, known as "The Really Big One," would be the worst-case scenario and would give rise to a massive tsunami that would wipe out over seven million people-- including the cities of Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, Salem, and Portland. It would also have severe repercussions across northern California, including the zone that was affected by yesterday's quake.

In addition, the entire region is exceptionally unprepared for an event like this, as minimal earthquake security measures are in place and architecture on the West Coast is nowhere close to ready to withstanding an earthquake like The Big One. In fact, 45 years ago, nobody even knew that the Cascadia subduction zone existed.

Unfortunately, research shows that the probability of The Big One occurring in the next 50 years is one in three, while the probability of The Really Big One occurring would be one in ten. This means that the entire West Coast is at risk of a massive earthquake every day, making it an extremely unsafe zone, and yesterday's earthquake could be a sign that the pressure between the plates is reaching a breaking point.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Toucans pass a piece of fruit  back and forth between their beaks during their mating ritual.

Quote of the Day: When gardeners garden, it is not just plants that grow, but the gardeners themselves. (Ken Druse)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Drub (verb)- To drub an individual or team, as in a game or contest, is to defeat them decisively.

In a Sentence: Morale after the game was low: the hometown team had been drubbed by the worst team in the league.