Earthquake Swarm hits Off Petrolia, California on the Cascadia Subduction Zone and Mendocino Fracture Zone

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A series of 8 earthquakes hit the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the Mendocino Fracture zone on March 8, 2020.

The biggest quake of the swarm was a M5.8 followed by a M4.9 three hours later.

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Earthquake swarm hits Cascadia Subduction Zone and Mendocino Fracture Zone on March 8 2020. Earthquake Map via USGS

The very shallow (2.2km or 1.4 miles deep) M5.8 earthquake hit the Mendocino fracture zone on March 8 2020 at around 8pm local time (2:59 UTC). The second largest tremor, a M4.9 quake hit around 3 hours later almost at the same spot.

Below you will find the 8 earthquakes of the series:

The M5.8 earthquake has been reported more than 2,600 times on the USGS website, while the M4.9 was felt by more than 300 residents.

This is due to the very shallow epicenters.

However, not tsunami warnings have been released since there was very little vertical movement and thus a little tsunami risk.

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M5.8 earthquake hits Cascadia off California. Picture via USGS

Mendocino Fracture Zone

The Mendocino Fracture Zone starts off the coast of Cape Mendocino in far northern California.

The fracture zone runs westward from a triple junction with the San Andreas Fault and the Cascadia subduction zone to the southern end of the Gorda Ridge.

The Mendocino is also a transform fault due to its active fault segment east of the Gorda Ridge knoan as the Mendocino Fault or Mendocino fault zone among geologists.

At seismically active intersection called the Mendocino Triple Junction, the northern Cascadia Subduction Zone is linked to the southern San Andreas Fault system.

cascade volcanic arc geologic setting
cascade volcanic arc geologic setting

It has been recently shown that the Cascadia and the San Andreas have way more interaction than previously thought. A new study has indeed demonstrated that a quake on the Cascadia Subduction Zone could trigger a similar shaker on the San Andreas fault to the south, thus inducing a cataclysmic seismic event along the U.S. West Coast.

So, yes, a major quake from the offshore Cascadia fault zone could trigger California’s infamous San Andreas Fault. And when I see strong earthquakes hitting the area I just feel it’s time to remind everybody about the imminent disaster. Be prepared!

By the way you can download a new documentary film about Cascadia Below… It’s really worth your money!

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3 Comments

  1. 5.8 i did predicted it and i predicted stock market crash i said in my predictions 2000 point stocks market will go down. Guess 2025.32 how much closer can i say. My predictions are stored
    strange sounds people can read it.
    Disastrous day on Wall Street ends with the Dow closing more than 2,000 points – 7.8% – down in biggest drop EVER after ‘kill switch’ stopped trading briefly thanks to coronavirus ‘pandemonium’ and Saudi-Russia oil price war

    The Dow Jones Industrial Index opened on a loss of more than 1700 points on Monday
    The sudden downturn triggered circuit breakers which halted trading for 15 minutes to stop the markets free-falling
    When trading resumed, it fell further briefly, marking a loss of 2,000 points
    By the end of the day, it had gotten worse and it closed 2,025.32 down
    It signals the biggest single-day point drop ever
    The volatility has been sparked by a combination of corona virus panic and an oil war between Saudi Arabia and Russia
    Analysts are calling the fall-out a ‘one two punch’ which could destroy Saudi Arabia’s allies’ economies in such a fragile time
    The London FTSE 100 suffered astronomical losses on Monday too
    Despite the undeniable financial chaos, Trump blamed the panic on the Democrats

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