Big Earthquake Brewing Underneath Oregon

Geologists who specify on studying earthquakes say a huge earthquake caused by tectonic plates battling each other under Oregon is due to blow any moment now. Earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates under the earth’s crust getting overpowered by stronger plates. A marine geologist Dr. Chris Goldfinger who specializes in earthquakes explains it best: “imagine you had a quarter-inch piece of plywood bordered on all sides by 2-inch plywood” Now which piece of wood do you think would buckle first? Basically, there is a younger plate on the Oregon coast called the Gorda plate, now this younger weaker plate is surrounded by much bigger plates such as the Pacific and North American plates. One of the bigger plates is the  Juan De Fuca Plate which is on our coast. These plates contradict each other all the time, which causes minor earthquakes around the coastline.

 The big problem here is that the Gorda plate has had so many “fights” with these other plates that it is said to completely slide under the bigger plates one of these times. Geologists say this would cause the Northwest coastline to sink by upwards of 6.6 ft. Not only would that alone cause a lot of damage in many ways such as devastating homes, breaking down bridges and tearing up roads, it will also cause many aftershocks to take place, this would also mean several waves of minor earthquakes. With all of that being said, there would be a 30-85 ft tsunami caused by the quake.

It’s not hard to realize that a lot of money would be lost. It is hard to determine exactly how much because this big of an earthquake hasn’t occurred. Money will be lost going towards reparations on a large scale. Buildings will fall, roads will have to be redone, bridges will break and will need to be rebuilt. All of these things will take a long time. So long, that businesses will likely move away from Oregon as a whole because they wouldn’t be getting much business. With all that said the quake with be truly devastating. It will not only bring harm physically by destroying homes and taking lives but also mentally by making people who live here feel insecure and unsafe.