A Whole Lot O' Shakin'

Day 56: There's a whole lot o' shakin' goin' on. In the last 24 hours, over sixty earthquakes measuring at magnitude 3.5 or higher have occurred in the same area some 300 miles off the Oregon Coast. This particular location has a long history of activity, however when clusters of quakes include several 5.5 or above (two of the most recent registered at 5.8), I get just a wee bit nervous. In 2019, the Juan de Fuca Plate was discovered to have a deep tear along a known weakened zone, and volcanic/earthquake activity along it is believed to be deforming the plate itself. It is further theorized that the plate may eventually fragment with its unsubducted portions merging with the larger, adjacent plates. The phrase "geologic time" conjures up mental images of the distant past and events which occur infrequently, but there's no saying that we couldn't be living in a notable geologic period. After all, we've already had one volcano blow up in our back yard. (graphic courtesy of USGS)