Just a few hours ago, a M4.1 earthquake struck in Petrolia, at the Junction between Cascadia and San Andreas faults. It was followed by a small quake right in the New Madrid Fault Zone, one of the six most dangerous earthquake prone areas in the U.S and by 7 earthquakes on the Seattle Fault Zone, one of the most high-risk line near Seattle. Just get ready for The Really Big One.
This earthquake, that hit on December 19 at 7:30 local time, wasn’t strong for the region. It is however interesting and worth notifying, because its epicenter is near the Mendocino Triple Junction.
M4.1 earthquake hits near Petrolia, California, a city situated some miles from the Mendocino Triple Junction in the Pacific Ocean. Map via USGS
The Mendocino Triple Junction marks the southernmost extent of the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the northernmost terminus of California’s famed San Andreas fault system at a point where three major tectonic plates: the Pacific, North American, and Gorda collide.
As we have learned in a recent paper, an earthquake along the Cascadia can trigger a quake on the San Andreas. So when an earthquake hits near the Junction of two of the most dangerous fault lines in the continental U.S., you bet it is important to note!
A M3.5 earthquake shook some parts of East King County on Wednesday evening, at around 7:10 p.m.. The epicenter was situated near Fall City at about 9 miles deep.
Seattle earthquake swarm on December 19. Map via USGS
As of now, more than 1250 people have reported feeling the earthquake on the USGS website from Granite Falls, Monroe, Bothell, Sultan, Woodinville, North Bend, Sammamish, Issaquah and Renton.
At least 5 aftershocks were recorded by the seismometers in the area:
- M 1.1 – 2km E of Enetai, Washington
- M 1.4 – 6km NE of Fall City, Washington
- M 1.6 – 6km NE of Fall City, Washington
- M 3.0 – 8km NNE of Snoqualmie, Washington (reported by almost 300 people)
- M 1.7 – 6km NE of Fall City, Washington (reported by 2 people)
- M 2.5 – 6km NE of Fall City, Washington (reported by more than 30 people)
M2.2 earthquake 6km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
A M2.2 earthquake hit in western Tennessee on Wednesday afternoon, December 18 and struck 3.8 miles north-northwest of Tiptonville and 31.3 miles south of Sikeston, Mo. The tremor had a depth of 4 kilometers.
And if you don’t know about the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812, just watch this documentary that tells the story of the historic earthquakes that struck near the town of New Madrid, Missouri and proceeded to rattle a big part of the country for the next six months.
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