![]() ![]() "You need quite a bit of vertical displacement on the ocean floor to generate a tsunami, and earthquakes along the Blanco fault don't generate it," seismologist Jochen Braunmiller said in 2008, when he was studying the region while at Oregon State University. Scientists have frequently said people who live along the Oregon coast should not worry about a tsunami coming from the Blanco fault. As geology writer Dana Hunter once put it, "The BFZ is seriously awesome and a lot of fun to get to know!"Įxplaining one reason why the fault's quakes aren't likely to be felt on the coast, Hunter noted that Blanco has a "young, warm crust" - even comparing it to a fresh-baked cookie - and added that the crust in that part of the ocean floor is more likely to crumble than to transmit powerful seismic waves to Oregon and California. The fracture zone has been compared to a warm cookieīecause of the Blanco Fault Zone's frequent activity and proximity to the coast, it has become a favorite study area for seismologists and researchers. The Blanco zone is farther out in the ocean than the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which - thankfully - has not generated an earthquake since 1700. "This is perhaps the most seismically active fault anywhere near North America, and this is not cause for alarm," tweeted Harold Tobin, who leads the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and is a professor at the University of Washington. Fielding, a geophysicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "The Blanco Fracture Zone is not connected directly to the subduction zone so it won't affect the big fault under land (Cascadia megathrust)," said Eric J. "Because that would be all kinds of not good," the user said, referring to the fault line that runs from Northern California up to British Columbia. "Is that the Cascadia subduction zone talking?" a Twitter user replied to a USGS post about one of the 5.8 magnitude quakes. As people took notice, they worried that the seismic activity might portend The Big One. The swarm of quakes hit around 200 miles from shore, according to the U.S. That sounds like a lot - but scientists say the fault is virtually incapable of generating a cataclysm, by either a tsunami or a powerful quake affecting the U.S. The Blanco Transform Fault Zone off Oregon's coast is famously active, and it has not disappointed in the past 24 hours, generating at least 50 earthquakes, including two at a 5.8 magnitude. ![]() The Blanco Transform Fault Zone is very active, but it poses little threat, researchers say. A swarm of more than 50 earthquakes has been detected off the Oregon coast in the past 24 hours, prompting seismologists to reassure Pacific Northwest residents that they're not in danger.
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