southern whidbey island fault map

Sherrods son has since completed graduate school in applied geosciences. A community meeting about a shelter at the Harbor Inn may have yielded more questions than answers. These sediments were laid down 20,000 to 60,000 years ago, before the last ice age. It is a qualitative scale that ranges from IXI (1-11) and measures the amount of damage caused by an event. We do know that it is active and will likely produce a large M67.5 earthquake when it next ruptures. Small talk stops. Moving inland, the Seattle Fault is capable of a magnitude 7. In effect, the wave energy is trapped by the edges of the body of water. Also issued a warning for the UK that the Italian chaos could come to Britain 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, VA 20192, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 12: Pacific Islands (American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), The southern Whidbey Island fault: An active structure in the Puget Lowland, Washington, S. Y. Johnson, C. J. Potter, J.M. At a downtown coffee shop, the mugs begin to chatter. This photo shows a fence that was offset about 8.5 feet during the 1906 Great San Francisco Earthquake on the San Andreas fault. Both types of faults can cause ground shaking during an earthquake and may cause permanent deformation of the ground. Johnson et al. Photo from Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Seismo Blog. One or possibly two of the unconformities are interpreted as event horizons. The Westport area is now the first in North America to have acommunity vertical evacuation structure, a building strong enough to resist earthquake and tsunami wave forces and give people a platform above the expected wave heights. Each of the earthquakes listed on the bottom of the screen is capable of significant damage. % The San Andreas fault in California is a good example of a very active strike-slip fault. This date was confirmed by records in Japan of an orphan tsunami and by many lines of geologic evidence. He said he believes dramatic shifts from that quake also may be visible on the western edge of Camano Island. The Cascade block to the northeast is floored by diverse assemblages of pre-Tertiary rocks; the Coast Range block to the southwest is floored by lower Eocene marine basaltic rocks of the Crescent Formation. endobj People are already fighting over toilet paper, just imagine what will it be like when they go shopping for food and the shelves are almost empty. This means that a tsunami made by an earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone will start to impact the Washington coast in less than 15 minutes. /L\Axc4Q/w4Ks^#, sRITgZf>,e}iI5,F_ADGc?f e@L. Reverse faults are usually steep and occur in regions of compression. South Whidbey Island Fault Earthquake Scenario: 7.4 Magnitude Buildings Damaged: 320,776 Fatalities: 90 - 432 Injuries: 2,920 - 7,361 Economic Loss: $15,590,000,000 SeaTac Fault Earthquake Scenario: 7.2 Magnitude Buildings Damaged: 375,954 Fatalities: 16 - 123 Injuries: 1,394 - 3,404 Economic Loss: $13,400,000,000 Tacoma Fault " A lot of people are transplants, " Forson said. Deformed recessional outwash deposits and Holocene deposits were exposed; three unconformities separated the units. Across the northern portion of Bainbridge Island, light radar or lidar images taken from airplanes clearly show the Seattle Fault running right on the surface. The southern Whidbey Island fault represents a segment of a boundary between two major crustal blocks. In Washington, the risk from earthquake-induced landslides is large. After large earthquakes there are usually many aftershock earthquakes. The Eastern Sierra fault along the east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in California is a good example of an active normal fault. The medic said colleagues were becoming sick and emotionally overwhelmed Experts believe a magnitude 9.0 could happen there anytime in the next 200 years or so. This earthquake caused parts of Restoration Point near on Bainbridge Island to be lifted 35 feet straight up. This means that the internet, your cell phone, grocery stores, and gas stations may also not work. As part of the Hazard Mitigation Planning process, mapping of the hazards that have the potential to affect the jurisdiction is performed using geographic information systems (GIS) software. The map also shows potentially active faults from a separate 2014 report (click here to download). Evacuate to higher ground if you are near a large body of water. After the earthquake, many things you count on may not be available. The Safe America Foundation suggests texting as a way of communication. For example, the DNR team found evidence that the rocks creating Snoqualmie Falls are much younger than previously thought. Geoscientist Brian Sherrod stands near the submerged southern Whidbey Island fault line at the Brightwater Treatment Plant in Woodinville. Depending on the type of fault, the ground can move laterally, vertically, or a combination of both. Geologists and geophysicists at the Washington Geological Survey map out these areas of amplification to help reduce damage during an earthquake. The moment magnitude scale is a type of logarithmic scale, where each increase of 1 means ~32 times more energy is released. The Seattle Fault is a zone of multiple shallow east-west thrust faults that cross the Puget Sound Lowland and through Seattle (in the U.S. state of Washington) in the vicinity of Interstate Highway 90.The Seattle Fault was first recognized as a significant seismic hazard in 1992, when a set of reports showed that about 1,100 years ago it was the scene of a major earthquake of about . The southern Whidbey fault is unlike more visible faults on the West Coast. As of January 12, 2017, the USGS maintains a limited number of metadata fields that characterize the Quaternary faults and folds of the United States. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. And while scientists keep digging for more information and more situational awareness of what we face, the other problem is human. When the landslide hit the water it may have created a tsunami. Coupeville, WA 98239, Camano Office The shaking usually lasts less than a minute and doesnt generally cause a tsunami or have many aftershocks. These fault strands follow the valley edges and control the location of the Snoqualmie River along some portions of the valley. When earthquakes occur on faults that reach the Earths surface, the ground may rupture. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. Excavations across several LiDAR scarps show evidence for multiple post-glacial folding and faulting event on faults with reverse oblique sense of slip. Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires if you can. Someone screams. These and other problems led to the search for a scale that was based on the physical processes that happen during an earthquake. The video is also available in Spanish and there is a fun activity/coloring book that can be found here. Facades crumble off buildings along Oak Harbors Pioneer Way, and some of the oldest structures in Langley and Coupeville collapse in a roaring cloud of dust. Some types of seismic energy (P waves) are similar to sound energy that is released if you break a twig or slide a chair across the floor. Unlike The Big One, scientists who have studied the southern Whidbey fault have far less understanding of when the next sudden shift might hit. Check out the liquefaction susceptibility and NEHRP site class maps on the Geologic Hazard Maps page. Learn how your comment data is processed. It devastated the coast of the Pacific Northwest and sent an orphan tsunami to Japan. When an earthquake happens there will not be time to google what you are supposed to do. Some people in places like SODO and Harbor Island may have to flee to higher floors in a building. The last major earthquake was over 300 years ago. Other faults are inactive and are left over from much older periods of deformation. Seismic waves travel at hundreds to thousands of miles per hour and quickly reach the surface where they are felt or measured. Everything points to one thing, Sherrod said, waving his hand across the inland sea. So the fault remained mostly a mystery until the 1990s. The bluff, where the cabins now sit, could have jutted up in the most recent Whidbey fault quake, Sherrod said. As an example, parts of Seattle and certain areas of downtown Olympia are built on softer ground that will amplify ground shaking during an earthquake. Videos: Strong M6.0 earthquake rattles Mindanao in the Philippines, Dramatic earthquake increase in Hawaii! <> For example, it is unlikely that you will be able to use electricity, cell phones, or the internet. The biggest one is called the South Whidbey Island fault, and it's thought to run from Victoria, B.C., through Woodinville and possibly beyond. So they dont necessarily know the threats they face.. This northwest-trending fault comprises a broad (as wide as 6-11 km), steep, northeast-dipping zone that includes several splays with inferred strike-slip, reverse, and thrust displacement. The Geologic Information Portal has a Natural Hazards theme that shows active faults and earthquakes. Geologists have used the location of these shallow, intermediate, and deep earthquakes to learn about subduction zones throughout the world. But it didnt. Often this cracking happens because a soft part of the ground liquefies during the shaking. The map also shows potentially active faults from a separate 2014 report (click here to download). Keaton and Perry (2006 #7653) excavated two trenches on the south end of the Brightwater treatment plant (KP1 site 572-3, and KP2 site 572-4). Third, the South Whidbey Island Fault running from northwest to southeast of the southern tip of the island. Sometimes Geologists can use the offset land surface to understand how much the fault moved during the earthquake. Notice the Seattle Fault Zone bounding the Seattle Basin to the south. Seattle Fault and Whidbey Faults HAZARD MAPS As part of the Hazard Mitigation Planning process, mapping of the hazards that have the potential to affect the jurisdiction is performed using geographic information systems (GIS) software. (1999 . But they didnt document it hardly at all.. You will not be able to google what to do in an earthquake when it is happening. These faults and earthquakes occur in oceanic crust as it is subducted beneath the continent. What scientists dont know is its timing interval. Buildings could sustain extensive damage. Charles Richter and Beno Gutenberg discovered that for every magnitude of earthquake, there are about ten times more earthquakes of the next lower magnitude. Most damage and loss of life in earthquakes is a result of ground shaking. The Cascadia subduction zone last ruptured over 300 years ago on January 26, 1700. The southern Whidbey Island fault divides the two. The last earthquake on the Seattle fault (about AD 950) triggered a landslide and seiche in Lake Washington. USA Earthquake Hazard Map. Under a scenario played out in a 2019 U.S. Department of Homeland Security study, state-maintained bridges would be severely damaged, leaving them unusable for months or years. The western half of Washington state is considered earthquake country, with the potential for very large quakes. Identify and secure items in your home or work that could cause damage. If the epicenter is Everett, the SWIF could cause. In the 1990s, scientists producedan animationthat shows inundation, and people wont have much time to run to higher ground. Restoring tap water to some homes could take over a year. EVERETT The South Whidbey Island Fault is connected to a system of powerful earthquake fault lines stretching from Victoria, B.C., to Yakima that is capable of unleashing a devastating. They conclude the observed features have a glaciotectonic origin and are not seimotectonic. Additional fault studies by state and federal geologists in the next few years will help determine the frequency and severity of earthquakes along these fault zones. Landslides can be caused by strong ground shaking during an earthquake. Image from the Pacific Geoscience Center of the Natural Resources of Canada. The SWIF was first recognized and mapped at a regional scale by Gower and others (1985) on the basis of gravity and aeromagnetic anomaly maps. Close to shore, this same wave could reach heights of 30100 feet or more. This part of the Japanese coast had not seen this type of seismic rupture in some 800 years, and what failed was that walls built to keep tsunami waves were not high enough. At the Brightwater treatment plant in Woodinville and at Crystal Lake in Maltby, the government researchers found telltale slopes of offset ground, known as scarps, indicative of a long-ago quake. People who look for evidence of past movement on faults are usually called paleoseismologists (from paleo-ancient and seismologist-one who studies earthquakes). This image shows the how the 1700 AD tsunami from the Pacific Northwest crossed the Pacific Ocean. Johnson and others . 1 School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8P 5C2, Canada 2 Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA Ready to retrofit? Additionally, because the continent moves up and over the ocean plate, large amounts of sea water are displaced and cause damaging tsunamis.