Name _________________________ Hr___

Megaquake could hit Pacific Northwest By ALICIA CHANG

LOS ANGELES — Just 50 miles off the coast exists an undersea fault in the Pacific that is
capable of producing a megaearthquake and inflicting heavy damage on cities like Seattle,
Portland and Vancouver. The fault has been dormant for more than 300 years, but when it
awakens — tomorrow or decades from now — the consequences could be devastating.
Recent computer simulations of a hypothetical magnitude- 9 quake found that shaking could last
two to five minutes — strong enough to cause poorly constructed buildings from British
Columbia to northern California to collapse and to damage highways and bridges severely. Such
a quake also would send powerful waves rushing to shore in minutes.
Located 50 miles off the coast, the 680-mile-long Cascadia fault is part of several seismic hot
spots around the globe where plates of the Earth’s crust grind and dive. These so-called
subduction zones give rise to mountain ranges, ocean trenches and volcanic arcs, but also spawn
the largest quakes on the planet. There is an 80% chance the portion of the fault off southern
Oregon and northern California will break in the next 50 years and produce a megaquake.
At some point, centuries of pent-up stress will cause the tectonic plates off the Pacific Northwest
to slip. Scientists cannot predict exactly when a quake will occur, only that one will happen. The
last one hit in 1700, a magnitude-9 that send 30- to 40-foottall tsunami waves crashing onto the
coast and raced across the Pacific, damaging Japanese coastal villages.

1. _____ The article mentions powerful waves rushing to shore. What are these
called?
a. T b. M c. T d. T
i o y s
d n p u
al s h n
W o o a
a o o m
v n n is
e s s
s

2. _____ What are hotspots?

a. A location with many c. Where plates separate
volcanoes d. None of the above
b. Where plates collide

3. _____ Why do scientists believe a big earthquake is coming to the Pacific

Northwest?
a. it has been a long time since one occurred there
b. a magnitude 9 hit there in 1700
c. Tectonic stress has been building there
d. All of the above

4. _____ How can an earthquake near the United States damage Japan?
a. Japan is directly across the ocean
b. Tsunami waves are created by earthquakes
c. Tsunami waves can move quickly across an ocean.
 d. All of the above

5. _____ Based on what you read what other areas of the world need to be concerned about
the Cascadia fault?
a. Florida b. India c. Hawaii d. All of the above

XC. _____ If this “megaquake” occurs what will likely happen?

a. California and part of Oregon will fall into the ocean
b. Non earthquake buildings and bridges will collapse
c. Volcanoes in Oregon and Washington will erupt
d. All of the above