fault lines in puget sound
It appears that the Seattle Uplift is acting as a rigid block, with the Tacoma, Dewatto, and Seattle faults being the southern, western, and northern faces. [54], It has been suggested that the SWIF might extend past its intersection with the RMFZ (with only peripheral strands turning to join the RMFZ) to cross the Cascades and eventually merge with or cross the OlympicWallowa Lineament;[55] a study of regional features suggests such a pattern. Earthquake Fault Maps in Seattle and Washington State According to the recent seismological studies, the Seattle Fault is believed to be a zone of thrust or reverse faults that strikes through Seattle in the densely populated Puget Lowland of western Washington (Johnson et al., 1999). Seattle Earthquakes, Types of Quakes & Fault Lines - TripSavvy [191] How they might be connected is unknown. Let's make your home safer Curiously, the extension of line "B" north of the OWL is approximately the eastern limit of Puget Sound seismicity, the rest of southwestern Washington and the North Cascades being relatively aseismic (see the seismicity map, above). The Devils Mountain Fault separates two similar but distinctive ensembles of Mesozoic (pre-Tertiary, before the dinosaurs died) or older rock. Methane Plume Emissions Associated With Puget Sound Faults in the Cascadia Forearc. [19] These terranes were covered by the basalts of the Crescent Formation (part of Siletzia). The Seattle Fault, a zone of east-west thrust faults under the Puget Sound and Seattle, last ruptured in a magnitude-7.0 to -7.5 earthquake about 1,100 years ago. The Puget Sound faults under the heavily populated Puget Sound region (Puget Lowland) of Washington state form a regional complex of interrelated seismogenic (earthquake-causing) geologic faults. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the Tacoma Fault Zone A - USGS [75], The strongly expressed topographical lineaments at the north end of the Rogers Belt pose a perplexing problem, as they show no definite offset where they are bisected by the left-lateral oblique-slip Devils Mountain Fault. [92] This is where the SWIF encounters the edge of the Western and Eastern Melange Belts (remnants of a mid-Cretaceous subduction zone[93]); the RMFZ is where the Seattle Uplift is being forced against the Western Melange belt[94], To the north the Melange Belt is manifested as the Rogers Belt, a zone of low-amplitude folding stretching from Monroe to Mount Vernon; the apparent western edge of this zone is on-strike with the RMFZ. Puget Sound Tsunami Simulation - National Oceanic and Atmospheric [215] The map also shows potentially active faults from a separate 2014 report (click here to download). ecc.kc@kingcounty.gov. This is supported by geologically recent scarps and other signs of active faulting on the Saddle Mountain faults, and also discovery of a geophysical lineament running through Pleasant Harbor (south of Brinnon) that appears to truncate strands of the Seattle Fault. Rainier, along the DDMFZ, and under Puget Sound between Olympia and approximately the Southern Whidbey Island Fault. While there is a bit of uplifted pre-Tertiary rock between the SPF and UPF, this does not truly fit the uplift and basin pattern described above because of the small scale (2km wide rather than around 20), and because the uplift here is entirely like a wedge being popped out between two nearly vertical faults, rather than being forced over a ramp such as is involved with the Seattle and Tacoma faults. E.g., HH mlange rock has been found in Manastash Ridge, 110km to the south (look for the small sliver of purple near the bottom of the diagram). ), Aeromagnetic mapping in 1999 showed a very prominent anomaly[172] (such as typically indicates a contrast of rock type); that, along with paleoseismological evidence of a major Holocene earthquake, has led to a suggestion that this structure "may be associated with faulting". normal. [132], Scarps associated with Holocene uplift of the Tacoma fault have been traced westward to Prickett Lake (southwest of Belfair, see map). [155] North of the Seattle Fault accommodation of regional movement may be along the northwest-striking Dabob Bay Fault Zone. 14 earthquakes in the past 30 days. [178] Alternately, the OS appears to coincide with a gravitational boundary in the upper crust that has been mapped striking southeast to The Dalles on the Columbia River,[179] where there is a swarm of similarly striking faults. PNSN Recent Events | Pacific Northwest Seismic Network Because the Seattle and Tacoma faults run directly under the biggest concentration of population and development in the region, more damage would be expected, but all the faults reviewed here may be capable of causing severe damage locally, and disrupting the regional transportation infrastructure, including highways, railways, and pipelines. Railroad Development in the Seattle/Puget Sound Region, 1872-1906 [8] As of 1985 only the Saddle Mountain Faults had been shown to have Holocene activity (since the last ice age, about 12,000 years ago). The implications of this are not only "the possibility of a moderate to large crustal earthquake along the SHZ", but that the tectonics under Puget Sound are more complicated than yet understood, and may involve differences in the regional stress patterns not reflected in current earthquake hazard assessments. 182-3]", "Western limits of the Seattle fault zone and its interaction with the Olympic Peninsula, Washington", "Seismic reflection imaging across the eastern portions of the Tacoma fault zone", "The western extension of the Seattle fault: new insights from seismic reflection data", "Seismic Characterization of the Seattle and Southern Whidbey Island Fault Zones in the Snoqualmie River Valley, Washington", "Fault number 552, Hood Canal fault zone", "Radiocarbon Ages of Probable Coseismic Features from the Olympic Peninsula and Lake Sammamish, Washington", "Geologic map of the Summit Lake 7.5-minute quadrangle, Thurston and Mason Counties, Washington", "The Olympia structure; ramp or discontinuity? Puget Sound, Washington has had: (M1.5 or greater) 0 earthquakes in the past 24 hours. Strands of the east-striking Devils Mountain Fault cross the northern tip of Whidbey Island at Dugualla Bay and north side of Ault Field (Whidbey Island Naval Air Station). [76], The Cherry Creek fault zone (CCFZ) was discovered in 2010 while mapping the area at the north end of the Rattlesnake Mountain fault zone (RMFZ). Observing these topographical features, some parallel gravity gradients, and a "very active zone of minor seismicity", William Rogers inferred in 1970 a "fault or other major structural feature".[64]. Discovery of faults has been greatly facilitated with the development of LIDAR, a technique that can generally penetrate forest canopy and vegetation to image the actual ground surface with an unprecedented accuracy of approximately one foot (30cm). Posted: 12 days ago. These features suggest that the southern Puget Lowland is influenced by the deep crust and even the subducting Juan de Fuca plate, but the details and implications are not yet known. One study of seismic vulnerability of bridges in the Seattle Tacoma area[4] estimated that an M 7 earthquake on the Seattle or Tacoma faults would cause nearly as much damage as a M 9 subduction earthquake. Especially as seismic reflection data[135] shows some faulting continuing east across Vashon Island and the East Passage of Puget Sound (the East Passage Zone, EPZ) towards Federal Way and an east-striking anticline. Job Description. The Seattle Fault is a zone of complex thrust and reverse faults between lines E and F on the map up to 7km wide and over 70km long that delineates the north edge of the Seattle Uplift. It is believed that all of these faults, folds, basins, and uplifts are related. [66] This is located on a topographical lineament that aligns with Mount Vernon to the north, and, to the south, the city of Granite Falls and Lake Chaplain (just north of Sultan). This map of Puget Sound shows the location of the methane plumes (yellow and white circles) detected along the ship's path (purple). Also intersecting at Mount St. Helens is a NE (045) trending line (red) of Pleistocene (about 4 Ma) plug domes and a topographic lineament (followed in part by Highway 12). The largest intra-crustal earthquakes have about the same total energy (which is about one-hundredth of a subduction event), but since they are closer to the surface they will cause more powerful shaking, and, therefore, more damage. The discovery was an alarm bell for engineers and emergency planners. [198], Does the SHZ extend north? American Seattle Cruise Reviews - Cruise Critic While the great subduction events release much energy (around magnitude 9), that energy is spread over a large area, and largely centered near the coast. Today's Earthquakes in Puget Sound, Washington Energize Eastside project is building a new substation and upgrading approximately 16 miles of existing transmission lines from Redmond to Renton. [141] (Originally named the Tahuya Fault. Western Washington lies over the Cascadia subduction zone, where the Juan de Fuca Plate is subducting towards the east (see diagram, right). This map shows the primary earthquake faults in the Puget Sound and other less prominent faults. (A tsunami generated by a quake on the offshore Cascadia Subduction Zone would be . The Puget Sound faults under the highly populated Seattle and Puget Sound region of Washington state form a regional network of interrelated seismologic geologic faults. This pocket is catching a stream of terranes (crustal blocks about 20 to 30km thick[18]) which the Pacific plate is pushing up the western edge of North America, and in the process imparting a bit of clockwise rotation to southwestern Washington and most of Oregon; the result has been characterized as a train wreck. However, most seismic activity is not associated with any known fault. We use an extensive network of marine high-resolution and conventional industry seismic-reflection data to constrain the location, shallow structure, and displacement rates of the Seattle fault zone and crosscutting high-angle faults in the Puget Lowland of western Washington. Large plumes of methane bubbles have been discovered throughout the waters of Puget Sound prompting questions about the Puget Sound food web, studies of earthquake faults and climate-change research. external structure, lines, and riggings; stand deck watches, such as helmsman and lookout underway; stand pier sentry, fire security, anchor, and . 206-296-3830. [164] Such quakes pose a serious threat to the City of Tacoma's dams at Lake Cushman,[165] located in the fault zone,[166] and to everyone downstream on the Skokomish River. [44] The significance of this whether the edge of the Crescent Formation (and implicitly of the Siletz terrane) turns southward (discussed below), or the metamorphic basement is supplanted here by other volcanic rock is not known. [182], The Doty Fault the southernmost of the uplift-and-basin dividing faults reviewed here, and located just north of the Chehalis Basin is one of nearly a dozen faults mapped in the CentraliaChehalis coal district in 1958. The true length of the UPF is likely twice as long, as it forms the southern margin of an aeromagnetic high that extends another 25km to the southeast. The Woods Lake Fault, running past Lake Chaplain, corresponds closest to the mapped position of the southern end of Cheney's Mount Vernon Fault. The energy released depends on the length of the fault; the faults here are believed capable of generating earthquakes as great as M 6 or 7. KUOW - Turkey's fault line is similar to faults under Puget Sound An earthquake occurs along a south-moving fault. If the pattern is continued to the southwest, along cross-section A-A' in Pratt's figure 11 (and missing the mapped trace of the Doty Fault), then the next basin is at Grays Harbor (not shown here). The Devils Mountain Fault is seismically active, and there is evidence of Holocene offsets. [190] These faults also cross the Saint Helens Zone (SHZ), a deep, north-northwest trending zone of seismicity that appears to be the contact between different crustal blocks. The earthquake scenario used in the modeling is a "very large, low-probability" magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Seattle Fault, which runs east-west through Puget Sound and downtown Seattle.. That earthquake, likely between magnitude 7 and 7.5, lifted the southern end of Bainbridge Island and West Seattle more than 20 feet (3 meters), generated a tsunami, and created landslides into Lake Washington, says Bill Steele . It has been suggested that a corresponding change in the character of the SWIF may reflect a change in the direction of regional crustal strain. On the other hand, the contrasting character of the east-striking and southeast-striking segments is unsettling, and the change of direction somewhat difficult to reconcile with the observed fault traces. [9] Not until 1992 was the first of the lowland faults, the Seattle Fault, confirmed to be an actual fault with Holocene activity, and the barest minimum of its history established.[10]. Black lines show the South Whidbey Island Fault Zone, the Seattle Fault Zone and the Tacoma Fault Zone. Sail Date: October 2022 . New tsunami maps show how water could reach Seattle, Everett, Tacoma The principal effects of this complex interplay of forces on the near-surface crust underlying the Puget Lowland are: Further complicating this is a feature of unknown structure and origin, the OlympicWallowa Lineament (OWL). This is a seemingly accidental alignment of topographic features that runs roughly east-southeast from the north side of the Olympic Peninsula to the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon. [103] Other seismic tomography has tantalizingly suggested three north-striking strands under Seattle, and a fourth just east of Lake Washington. [61], North of Everett is an area of parallel ridges and stream drainages oriented approximately NW-SE, evident even on non-geological maps. [89] The northern end of the mountain falls off where it crosses the eastern end of the Seattle Fault, which in turn terminates at the RMFZ; Rattlesnake Mountain forms the eastern edge of the Seattle Uplift. Seismic waves transmit the energy NW-striking black lines are right-lateral bedrock faults thought to be subsidiary to Dar- rington-Devils Mountain fault zone (Dragovich and DeOme, 2006). Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems , 2021; 23 (1) DOI: 10.1029/2021GC010211 Cite This Page : This structure is shown in the gravitational mapping of 1965, but without comment. Earthquake - King County [104] Although there is no direct evidence for any major north-striking faults under Seattle, this prospect appears to be endorsed by the geological community.[105]. Very little is known about the structure of the deep crust (below about 30km or 19 miles), though this and other seismic tomography studies (such as Ramachandran 2001) provide tantalizing glimpses. 6 earthquakes in the past 7 days. [Paper No. This may explain why the Seattle and Tacoma faults seem to have ruptured at nearly the same time.[127]. ), The Coast Range Boundary Fault (CRBF) is hypothesized, expected on the basis of tectonic considerations, which may correlate in part with one or more currently known faults, or may involve as yet undiscovered faulting. From the north these are (see the map at right): The Hood Canal Fault (and its possible extensions) and Saddle Mountain faults to the west are believed to form the western boundary to all this. More than a millennium ago, a quake estimated at a magnitude 7 on the Seattle Fault thrust land upward as much as 23 feet and submerged 200-acre chunks of forest in central Puget Sound and Lake . Display Faults. The last major earthquake on the Seattle Fault occurred around 1,100 years ago, shifting the landscape in Puget Sound. The Seattle uplift, and possibly the Black Hills uplift, consist of Crescent Formation basalt that was exposed when it was forced up a ramp of some kind. Where it intersects the northwest-trending Johnsons Swamp fault zone, easternmost member of the RMFZ. The QFFDB, citing lack of consensus, ignores the eastern part. [58], Paleoseismological studies of the SWIF are scant. [162] Trench studies indicate major earthquakes (in the range of M 6. to 7.8) on the Saddle Mountain faults [163] at nearly the same time (give or take a century) as the great quake on the Seattle Fault about 1100 years ago (900930 AD). [118], Studies of the Seattle Fault west of Bremerton have revealed a complexity of geological structure and faulting. [130] This is likely not coincidental, as it appears that the Tacoma and Seattle faults converge at depth (see diagram above) in a way that northsouth compression tends to force the Seattle Uplift up, resulting in dip-slip movement on both fault zones. Fault lines in the New Madrid seismic zone are being mapped, thanks in part to . And like the SCF, strike-slip motion died out between 44 and 41 MA (due to plutonic intrusions). Seattle Fault Bigger Quake Threat Than Thought | Live Science
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