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A few minutes of intense shaking, followed by a devastating tsunami, producing widespread destruction. FEMA's best-case scenario, 13,000 people will lose their lives, (Schultz, 2015). The question is not if it's going to happen, it's when. The countdown to catastrophe is on for the Pacific Northwest. We're talking about the Cascadia Subduction Zone. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the who, what, where, when, and how this overdue megaquake will strike.

The Cascadia subduction zone is a 620-mile-long crack in the earth's crust. It is in the pacific northwest where the North American tectonic plate meets the Juan de Fuca plate, (Tarbuck, Lutgens, Tasa, 2017). Tectonic plates are pieces of crust that move across the earth's surface over millions of years, (Oskin, 2015). The subduction zone is where two tectonic plates meet. One eventually bends underneath the other, which is what we see in the North Pacific. The Juan de Fuca plate is sliding under the weaker, North American plate. Eventually, the North American plate will buckle, result in a devastating earthquake, followed by massive Tsunami.

Subduction zones are found all along the edge of the Pacific in what is called, "The ring of fire." Off the coasts of Washington, Canada, Alaska, Russia, and Indonesia birthed the most devastating earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions in history, (Oskin, 2015). The bigger the subduction zone, the higher magnitude of the earthquake. A subduction zone earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 or greater will likely produce a tsunami. The Cascadia subduction zone is a big one. It runs 620 miles long and 62 miles wide. It has all the ingredients necessary to produce massive devastation.

So how do we know that the Pacific Northwest is in danger? Tsunamis are a direct result of an earthquake, volcanic eruption or a massive landslide. The once dubbed, "Orphan Tsunami," hit the eastern coast of Japan on January 27th, 1700, (Atwater et al., 2015). The year 1700 in the Pacific Northwest was considered prehistory, meaning there were no written records of events. Japan, on the other hand, have produced numerous ancient writings of stories that told of flooded fields, wrecked houses, fire, a shipwreck, and evacuations. The Japanese knew that tsunamis were a result of an earthquake, and because they didn't feel any shaking prior, they called the event a high tide. At the time, it wasn't known that tsunamis could occur from earthquakes that happened from faraway lands. Outsiders of Northwestern North America scarcely knew of its existence. At that time, leading European geographers left that part of the map blank. So, for this mystery, the Japanese didn't even know the Pacific Northwest existed, much less that it had produced the earthquake that generated the tsunami, (Atwater et al., 2015).

The Chilean earthquake that struck on May 22, 1960, generated a tsunami that surged across the Pacific to Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippians. Almost a day after the quake, 10-foot waves crashed along the coast of Japan causing 139 deaths and destroying nearly 3,000 homes, (Atwater, et al., 2015). This event was an eye opener for the Japanese. They finally realized that tsunami waves had the ability to travel great distances, to places that never feel an earthquake.

The origin of the tsunami remained a mystery for nearly three centuries. It was a ghost forest that sparked the interest of Brian Atwater, a geologist with the United States Survey, in the 1980s. Mature trees believed to have stood 150 feet tall or more in the ghost forest. Atwater and his colleagues discovered evidence of sudden land subsidence in the soil, suggesting an earthquake had struck long ago. The trees were once living, dangerously close to shore, before the earthquake. When the land dropped, the tides rushed in bringing with them mud which built up around the trunks of the trees. The drowned forest died in a salty marsh, leaving behind geological clues to later be discovered. Teaming up with specialises in dendrochronology, the study of tree ring dating, Atwater began to date the death of the trees back to 1700. He knew that something happened here. Something sudden with enough power to take out an entire forest. Eventually, the evidence that was gathered, finally pieced together the origin of the orphan tsunami, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the Cascadia subduction zone, (Steele, 2013).

Unfortunately, geologists are unable to predict exactly when it is going to happen. However, with developing technology, they can measure and keep an eye on tectonic plates. Using a GPS (Global Positioning System), geologists can research and discover what we can't see or feel, (GPS World Staff, 2012). GPS systems are continuously tracking the movement of plates. They are recording that the Oregon region is being shifted by an inch and a half every year. The coastline is moving faster than the land, farther inland, which will cause the North American Plate to buckle. Since the last Cascadia quake hit in 1700, the region has shifted about 39 feet. The more it shifts, the more strain on the plates.

To no surprise Tsunamis and Earthquakes affect the environment a great deal, and most of the effects are not positive, but negative. The first way that tsunamis can affect animal habitats. Tsunamis have the force and power to destroy the habitat animals built for themselves. For example, Tsunamis can rip down forests or trees for birds. They can kill animals such as fish that are closer to the coast can be tossed out of the water and onto the beaches. Tsunamis can cause coastal erosion and much more damage to the coastline, that can take many peoples and animals lives.

We all know how devastating earthquakes and tsunamis can be. The December 2004 tsunami that originated from the Indian Ocean quake killed over 230,000 people in 14 countries, (New World Encyclopedia, 2013). That is the deadliest earthquake and tsunami disaster in recorded history. Japan experienced a 9.0 magnitude earthquake followed by a massive tsunami in 2011 that ended up taking the lives of 16,000 people and completely wiping out the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Haiti experienced a 7.0 magnitude quake in 2010 that devastated the country taking 222,000 lives.

The results of a Tsunami are devastating, being one of the biggest and most massive natural disasters, the damage caused by a wave of such a magnitude can cause extensive damage in any country. The damage posed by a Tsunami is far-reaching, taking thousands of lives and destroying entire cities and towns. The tidal waves destroy everything in their path, including boats, buildings, trees, nothing is saved from a Tsunami wave. Ones the wave hits the town the water continues to rush throughout the town, into buildings and washing away everything that it touches.

Scientists discovered that less developed; third world countries are most likely to be hit by a Tsunami, most of them being located in South Asia, being close to the "ring of fire" which is located in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the ocean that has high seismic activity. Tsunamis do not pose any positive effects; they are the type of natural force that can never be overpowered or avoided. Natural disasters can't be prevented because they happen when they want to, therefore all we can do it try to prepare if such an event was to occur.

The earthquake in Haiti, for example, took many lives, illnesses that grow in the water supply are going to increase due to the floods and the dirty waters getting into the regular water supply. Many buildings were destroyed, causing a lot of issues on the Island, in particular with the construction waste. While the effects of this earthquake caused many environmental problems for Haiti, there are some environmental benefits to earthquakes critics argue. At times earthquakes can create new habitats for new species, and even new ecosystems. For example; if a piece of the shore was to break off and float away, within the time the piece will change and adapt to water ecosystem it is subjected too.

But earthquakes can also connect landmasses, causing serious problems. Looking at the Indian subcontinent slammed into the Asian continent millions of years ago, due to the quake-causing tectonic motion. When this happened, plants and animals were immediately forced to compete with a plethora of species, (2017-Martin Luff). Some more positive effects of earthquakes are that they allow minerals and metals to be pushed up the surface, making them much easier to extract. Fossil Fuels are also easier to access with the shift of plates within the earth. It may appear scary, but additional resources are necessary to maintain humanity and continue evolving as we have been in the past.

We need to educate ourselves and get as prepared as we possibly can. Authorities around the world are working together to create a tsunami warning system. In past disasters, if warnings were issues, how many lives could have been spared? National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration now has 39 DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) stations spread all around the world. These buoy's lie on the ocean floor and can detect a tsunami immediately. The buoy collects data that is necessary to quickly project a forecast, (National Data Buoy Center, 2011). This information can then be sent to potentially affected areas.

Schools in the Pacific Northwest are preparing children and staff with tsunami drills. One Oregon school is the first in the country to build a vertical escape route. Evacuation maps have been generated in preparation for such an event. Many cities in Oregon are isolated. There are only a few roads in the entire state that lead east, away from the destruction. This could hinder evacuation procedures, potentially leaving survivors stranded, (phys.org, 2016). Another problem Oregon faces is that all gas is shipped in. Fuel shortages are very likely, which will make it difficult for search and rescue. Some areas along the west coast are popular summer tourist attractions. Thousands of people visit the beautiful beaches every year. If an earthquake and tsunami hit during the summer months, it will likely make evacuations that much more chaotic and confusing.

Earthquakes themselves strike without warning. Researchers warn that after the shaking stops, the first tsunami wave is expected to hit the Oregon coast within 20 minutes, (Schultz, 2015). It will be a series of waves that will continue to run for hours. The waves will travel at speeds up to 600 mph. Four hours after the quake, the tsunami waves will hit Hawaii, and eight hours later, Japan will get hit. Preparing for such a disaster can only go so far. The real test will come in time. Are you ready?

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Dover, F., January 28, 2010, Environmental Impacts of the Haiti Earthquake, Boulderweekly.com

Luff, Martin, 2017, How do Earthquakes affect the Environment, Reference.com

https://www.reference.com/science/earthquakes-affect-environment-7f30b7d0a8216edf

Riley, G., April 25, 2017, How do Earthquakes positively affect the environment, Sciencing.com

Horse, R., March 20, 2016, What are the effects of a Tsunami, Owlcation.com

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2004 Indian Ocean earthquake - New World Encyclopedia. (2013, July 31). Retrieved from:

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=2004_Indian_Ocean_earthqua

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Orphan Tsunami of 1700 : Japanese Clues to a Parent Earthquake in North America. Reston, Va: University of Washington Press.

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Haas, R. (2015, January 14). What is a 9.0 Earthquake? Retrieved from:

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