Tsunami - Newport
BEAVER BOARD INFORMATION
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Devastating waves called ‘tsunamis’ can strike the Oregon coast at any time. These waves are caused by great undersea earthquakes that occur along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, one of the largest active faults in North America.Tsunamis are dangerous and destructive. They have struck the Oregon coast at 200 to 600 year intervals. For example, about AD 1700, a tsunami caused by an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone flooded marshes landward of Yaquina Bay and other Oregon bays.
Geologists know tsunamis have affected large areas in the past because tsunami-deposited sand has been found here and in other coastal lowlands in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and northernmost California.
Caption: The earth’s surface consists of a series of “plates”. These plates are constantly shifting and sliding over, under, or past each other. When a sudden movement occurs between two plates, we experience an earthquake.
Caption: A tsunami can deposit a layer of sea sand in its path. Core samples have been collected along Yaquina Bay and the surrounding lowlands for evidence of past tsunamis. Dots show where buried tsunami sands were found.
Caption: The Juan de Fuca Plate is moving away from the Juan de Fuca Ridge and is being forced under the overriding North American Plate; this geologic process is called subduction.
WHAT TO DO
If there is an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, Newport could be hit by a tsunami within minutes of the ground shaking. To escape a tsunami, you must respond immediately after feeling an earthquake – go to high ground and inland away from beaches, tidal channels, and other coastal lowlands. Remember, most tsunamis are not solitary giant waves; instead, many large waves may strike shore over the course of several hours. Do not return to the beach after the first tsunami wave. Wait for official word from authorities.
Geologists know tsunamis have affected large areas in the past because tsunami-deposited sand has been found here and in other coastal lowlands in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and northernmost California.
Caption: The earth’s surface consists of a series of “plates”. These plates are constantly shifting and sliding over, under, or past each other. When a sudden movement occurs between two plates, we experience an earthquake.
Caption: A tsunami can deposit a layer of sea sand in its path. Core samples have been collected along Yaquina Bay and the surrounding lowlands for evidence of past tsunamis. Dots show where buried tsunami sands were found.
Caption: The Juan de Fuca Plate is moving away from the Juan de Fuca Ridge and is being forced under the overriding North American Plate; this geologic process is called subduction.
WHAT TO DO
If there is an earthquake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone, Newport could be hit by a tsunami within minutes of the ground shaking. To escape a tsunami, you must respond immediately after feeling an earthquake – go to high ground and inland away from beaches, tidal channels, and other coastal lowlands. Remember, most tsunamis are not solitary giant waves; instead, many large waves may strike shore over the course of several hours. Do not return to the beach after the first tsunami wave. Wait for official word from authorities.
FACT BLOCK
LOCATION:
Newport
Lincoln COUNTY
GPS COORDINATES:
44.61767,-124.05147
OTIC TOPIC:
Geology, Natural Disasters
Sponsored by:
Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Studies
beaver board text CODED AS:
no WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
-
nO MULTICULTURAL
INFORMATION
published online:
september 25, 2011
Newport
Lincoln COUNTY
GPS COORDINATES:
44.61767,-124.05147
OTIC TOPIC:
Geology, Natural Disasters
Sponsored by:
Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Studies
beaver board text CODED AS:
no WHITE SUPREMACY ACKNOWLEDGMENT
-
nO MULTICULTURAL
INFORMATION
published online:
september 25, 2011
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