fault lines in puget sound

This MSH-MR-GP lineament is believed to reflect a "long-lived deep-seated lithospheric flaw that has exerted major control on transfer of magma to the upper crust of southern Washington for approximately the last 25 [million years]";[203] it has been attributed to the geometry of the subducting Juan de Fuca plate.[205]. 2-5 Cruises Age 60s. Prior to 2000, prominent aeromagnetic anomalies strongly suggested that the fault zone continued southeast, perhaps as far as the town of Duvall, but this was uncertain as the SWIF is largely concealed, and the faint surface traces generally obliterated by urban development. Deep quakes are the most common large earthquakes that occur in the Puget Sound region. Page 2 of 4 / 2012-2013 Type of Earthquake Most earthquake hazards result from ground shaking caused by seismic waves that radiate out from a fault when it ruptures. [56] But detailed mapping just past the intersection shows only a complex and confused pattern of faulting, with no indication that there is, or is not, through-going faulting. (E.g., the Olympia Fault is aligned with and appears to be the northernmost member of a set of faults between Olympia and Chehalis that may extend to the Columbia River, and there has been a suggestion that the Tacoma Fault may connect with the White RiverNaches River fault on the east side of the Cascades.[24]). The apparent gap north of Riffe Lake is possibly due to obscuration by volcanic deposits of the Northcraft Formation. This is an important observation because the Strawberry Point, Utsalady Point, Southern Whidbey Island, and various other unnamed faults lying between the DDMFZ and the OWL all of which converge at the western end of the DDMFZ seem to be intermediate versions of the DDMFZ.[34]. Another model (of Stanley, Villaseor & Benz 1999, USGS Open-File Report 990311) not so much in competition with the first as complementing it used seismic and other data to create a 3-D tectonic model of the whole crust; this was then analyzed using finite element methods to determine regional geodynamic characteristics. This map of Puget Sound shows the location of the methane plumes as yellow and white circles. A single earthquake in Seattle could cause a catastrophic situation for the northwest corner of the state, a new report from Washington's Department of Natural Resources found. 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). There are numerous other faults (or fault zones) in the Puget Lowland, and around its edges, sketchily studied and largely unnamed. (Links with more information on various hazards can be found at Seattle Fault.). Also, the sedimentary Chuckanut Formation (part of the NWCS, green) north of the DMF correlates to the Suak and Roslyn Formations just north of Manastash Ridge. 4) Drag square on line to include events to plot. [80], In the crowded field of active or potentially active fault zones that have been discovered in the lower Snoqualmie Valley, the Cherry Creek fault zone is particularly notable because east of Duvall[81] it passes through a hotspot of active seismicity, including the 1996 '"`UNIQ--templatestyles-00000057-QINU`"'ML 5.3 Duvall earthquake. At Darrington it is seen to connect with the Darrington Fault, which runs nearly south 110km to converge with the Straight Creek Fault (SCF), and then to turn near Easton to align with the OlympicWallowa Lineament; together these are known as the DarringtonDevils Mountain Fault Zone (DDMFZ). There is a general pattern where most of these faults partition a series of basins and uplifts, each about 20km wide. It is believed capable of generating earthquakes of at least magnitude 7, and there is evidence of such a quake approximately 1,000 years ago, possibly the same earthquake documented on the Seattle Fault 24 miles (38km) to the north. The history and capabilities of the Frigid Creek Fault are not known. Read More. North Olympic Peninsula VA Clinic at VA Puget Sound health care, 360-565-7420. 20);[208] it includes the Cherry Creek Fault Zone NNE of Carnation, location of the 1965 Duvall earthquake. [90], The RMFZ continues NNW past Fall City and Carnation, where strands of the RMFZ have been mapped making a gentle turn of 15 to 20 west to meet the Southern Whidbey Island Fault zone (SWIF, discussed above); the RMFZ is therefore considered to be an extension of the SWIF. A marine seismic reflection study[177] found evidence of faulting at the mouth of Budd Inlet, just north of the Olympia structure, and aligning with faint lineaments seen in the lidar imagery. [181] What is unknown is whether this was due to a great subduction earthquake, to the noted earthquake on the Seattle Fault about that time, or to an earthquake on a local fault (e.g., the Olympia structure); there is some evidence that there were two earthquakes over a short time period. NW-striking black lines are right-lateral bedrock faults thought to be subsidiary to Dar- rington-Devils Mountain fault zone (Dragovich and DeOme, 2006). See. This is just after the terrane carrying the Olympic Mountains came into contact with the North American continent. Most people in the United States know just one fault line by name: the San Andreas, which runs nearly the length of California and is perpetually rumored to be on the verge of unleashing "the. [29] This prospect is especially intriguing as a possible explanation of a cluster of seismic events around 1100 years ago.[30]. [21] The OWL appears to be a deep-seated structure over which the shallower crust of the Puget Lowland is being pushed, but this remains speculative. Black lines show the South Whidbey Island Fault Zone, the Seattle Fault Zone and the Tacoma. The ultimate driver of the stresses that cause earthquakes are the motions of the tectonic plates: material from the Earth's mantle rises at spreading centers, and moves out as plates of oceanic crust which eventually are subducted under the more buoyant plates of continental crust. Plot. Olympic Peninsula, Washington has had: (M1.5 or greater) 0 earthquakes in the past 24 hours. Simply put, the basement rock on the west side of Puget Sound does not match the basement rock on the east side. [198], Does the SHZ extend north? A Lofall Fault has been reported on the basis of marine seismic reflection surveying,[216] but has not been confirmed by trenching. But today, after 131 years of statehood, residents of this region still don't know if they have a legal right to walk across a privately . Its capable magnitude is a megathrust quake exceeding 9.0. [132], Scarps associated with Holocene uplift of the Tacoma fault have been traced westward to Prickett Lake (southwest of Belfair, see map). "We. 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. However, there are indications that the fault is segmented, which might limit rupturing and earthquake magnitude.[36]. Yet the former is only the first of at least six more parallel southeast striking faults, which do cross the Salzer Creek Fault. [188] In the acute angle between these is located the minor Lincoln Creek uplift, the Doty Hills, and an impressive chunk of uplifted Crescent basalt (reddish area at west edge of the map). Movement on the southern segment of the DDMFZ that converges with the SCF the Darrington Fault was, as on the SCF itself, right-lateral. [58], Paleoseismological studies of the SWIF are scant. Since 2000 studies of LIDAR and high-resolution aeromagnetic data have identified scarps near Woodinville which trenching has confirmed to be tectonically derived and geologically recent. Harold Tobin, a researcher at the University of Washington and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, says the fault line that caused this disaster is similar to the faults under Puget Sound. ecc.kc@kingcounty.gov. [131], The Tacoma Fault was first identified by Gower, Yount & Crosson (1985) as a gravitational anomaly ("structure K") running east across the northern tip of Case and Carr Inlets, then southeast under Commencement Bay and towards the town of Puyallup. . Marine technician Sony Brugger, right, retrieves underwater sampling equipment during a December 2020 research cruise aboard the RV Rachel Carson. Job Description. Based on this and geophysical anomalies it was inferred that there is a major, active strike-slip fault zone running from the south end of Hood Canal, up Dabob Bay, and continuing north on land. [91] The relationship between these two fault zones is not entirely clear. These faults are: the Kopiah Fault (note the curious curve), Newaukum Fault, Coal Creek Fault, and three other unnamed faults. If so, this would be a major fault system (over 185km long), connecting the Puget Lowland with the Yakima Fold Belt on the other side of the Cascades, with possible implications for both the OlympicWallowa Lineament (which it parallels) and geological structure south of the OWL. Nurse Recruiter at VA Puget Sound health care, 206-764-2487. The Seattle fault zone is where the forward edge of the slab, coming to the top of the ramp, breaks and slips into the Seattle Basin. Seismic waves transmit the energy When the applied stresses become overpowering, the rocks at the fault rupture. Earthquakes occur nearly every day in Washington. [16] For the past 50 million years or so (since the early Eocene epoch) these have been thrust by subduction up against the North Cascades ("fixed block" in the diagram), which sit on the North American Plate. According to the preeminent model, the "Puget Lowland thrust sheet hypothesis",[26] these faults, etc., occur within a sheet of crust about 14 to 20km deep that has separated from and is being thrust over deeper crustal blocks. - Read More Expert Puts Turkey, Syria Quake into Perspective | FOX 13 In the map above these are represented by the pair of dotted lines at the lower right. In the previous study seismicity, surface geology, and geophysical data were modeled in order to examine the fault structuring of the upper crust. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Puget_Sound_faults&oldid=1132982136, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, A great subduction earthquake, such as the. It's due for another one,. Posted: 12 days ago. 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. For information about the Energize Eastside project, . [138] It arises from the contrast between the denser and more magnetic basalt of the Crescent Formation that has been uplifted to the east, and the glacial sediments that have filled the Dewatto basin to the west. The mapped surface traces are only 5km long, but LIDAR-derived imagery shows longer lineaments, with the traces cutting Holocene alluvial traces. Harold Tobin, a researcher at the University of Washington and director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, says the fault line that caused earthquake that shook southern Turkey near the Turkish-Syrian border and killed more than 7,000 people is similar to the faults under Puget Sound. The Puget Sound region is not just potentially seismic, it is actively seismic. While these models vary in some details, both indicate that the Seattle Fault itself is capable of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Analysis of seismic profiles extending 50 km across the Puget Lowland from Lake Washington to Hood Canal indicates . 112 earthquakes in the past 365 days. Hood Canal marks an abrupt change of physiography between the Puget Lowland and the Olympic Mountains to the west. [123] Other studies have faults extending NW or WNW from the SF towards Dabob Bay;[124] these are now recognized as part of the Dabob Bay fault zone. This formation, up to 15km thick, is largely buried (from one to ten kilometers deep), and known mainly by magnetotellurics and other geophysical methods. Puget Sound and San Juan islands. 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. Aeromagnetic surveys,[13] seismic tomography,[14] and other studies have also contributed to locating and understanding these faults. [191] How they might be connected is unknown. They estimate the fault is within a few miles of the surface and was active as recently as 1,000 to 1,100 years ago. [221] Where it might run south of Seattle is not known; an argument has been made that it runs beneath Seattle[222] but this is still conjectural. [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]. Clearance, service lines and meter locations. On the north is the HelenaHaystack mlange (HH mlange, purple in the diagram at right), on the south the Western and Eastern mlange belts (WEMB, blue). [122] This trend extends further north where the Pleasant Harbor lineament appears to terminate other westward extensions of the SFZ. Can be formed by differential erosion of adjacent hard and soft rock; by localized erosion, for example at the edge of a river terrace; by movement of a landslide; or by a shallow earthquake that is large enough to break the Earth's surface. [79] It is deemed a "major active or potentially active" structure. (See, There is a preliminary report of aeromagnetic and gravity mapping placing the eastern edge of the Siletz terrane under Lake Washington. [141] (Originally named the Tahuya Fault. [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. [126], An emerging view is that the Dewatto fault marks the western edge of the relatively rigid Seattle Uplift (see map). The Seattle Fault crosses east-west through Puget Sound and downtown Seattle. 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. Relatively shallow crustal earthquakes, generally less than 25km (16 miles) deep, caused by stresses and faulting in the near-surface crustal structures. Next to a 4-6 lines highways with 90db noise and cancerous pollution. The Devils Mountain Fault separates two similar but distinctive ensembles of Mesozoic (pre-Tertiary, before the dinosaurs died) or older rock. And since those models for the Seattle Fault were published, there've actually been many more Puget Sound faults discovered. [115] This seems reasonable enough, as Hood Canal is a prominent physiographic boundary between the Olympic Mountains and Puget Lowlands, and believed to be the location of a major fault. In the angle between these is located the minor Lincoln Creek uplift, the Doty Hills, and, further west, an impressive chunk of Crescent basalt. The DotySalzer Creek Fault does not fully fit the regional pattern of basins and uplifts bounded by faults described above. 10+ Cruises Age 2020s. [88] (See the adjacent map. 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. Energy builds up as elastic strain in rocks.

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fault lines in puget sound