The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a 600-mile fault that runs from northern California up to British Columbia and is about 70-100 miles off the Pacific coast shoreline. There have been 41 earthquakes in the last 10,000 years within this fault that have occurred as few as 190 years or as much as 1200 years apart.
What causes earthquakes on the Pacific coast? Along the Ring of Fire girding the Pacific Ocean, for example, the seafloor plunges beneath Asia and the Americas, building mountains, feeding volcanoes, and triggering earthquakes. The ground first bends and then snaps—an earthquake—to release energy along faults.
What part of California has the most earthquakes? Central Valley South The San Andreas fault system is the major geologic boundary between the North American and Pacific tectonic plates and passes through much of the state. It will create the biggest earthquakes—as big as magnitude 8—that will disrupt the whole region.
Let's hope California fires settle down and no earthquakes hit these poor people!
