The Really Big One
Article

The Really Big One

An earthquake will destroy a sizable portion of the coastal Northwest. The question is when.

Kathryn Schulz
The New Yorker, 2015
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Scientific
  • Eye Opening

Recommendation

Scientists have recently learned about a fault line in the Pacific Ocean that has triggered at least seven large-magnitude earthquakes in the past 3,500 years. Within the next decades, the fault line is prone to trigger another massive earthquake followed by a tsunami that can render large portions of the US Pacific Northwest beyond recognition. Kathryn Schulz, a Pulitzer Prize–winning staff writer at The New Yorker, has penned a gripping scientific narrative about the impending megaquake. getAbstract believes it’s a must-read for residents of the Pacific Northwest, but recommends reading it no matter where you live.

Summary

A little-known fault line in the Pacific Ocean could cause “the worst natural disaster in the history of North America” by 2065, earthquake experts predict. The Cascadia subduction zone, which runs offshore from Vancouver, Canada, to Northern California, is where the Juan de Fuca oceanic plate is sliding underneath the North American tectonic plate. At some point, there will be a “backstop,” which will cause the continental plate to “rebound like a spring.” If only part of the subduction zone rebounds, an earthquake with a magnitude of between 8.0 and 8.6 will occur – comparable to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami...

About the Author

Kathryn Schulz is a Pulitzer Prize–winning staff writer at The New Yorker.

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