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New research highlights where ‘The Big One’ earthquake could hit

Northern part of the long Pacific Ocean fault most likely to produce a major earthquake, scientists say

New research offers a clearer picture of a fault line hundreds of kilometres long off the West Coast that is predicted to generate a major earthquake and tsunami commonly known as “The Big One.”

The study confirms that the northern part of the fault, close to Vancouver Island and Washington state, is most likely to produce a major earthquake. 

“It’s giving us the first really detailed look at this huge megathrust fault that we’ve long known about but haven’t had any details about,” Edwin Nissen, a University of Victoria earth and ocean science researcher who was not involved in the research into the fault line where two tectonic plates meet.

The research, recently published in the prestigious journal Science Advances, produced the most detailed picture researchers have yet had of the fault zone spanning more than 900 kilometres from northern California to Vancouver Island — imaging they say helps them understand the magnitude and probability of earthquakes.

See more at CBC: https://cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cascadia-subduction-zone-imaging-1.7235949