Are the Cascade volcanoes about to wake up soon? Strong earthquake swarm of more than 51 quakes on Blanco Fracture Zone off Oregon could be the terrifying trigger

8
Strong earthquake swarm off Oregon on December 7-8 2021
Strong earthquake swarm off Oregon on December 7-8 2021. Map via USGS

Just to confirm!

The earthquakes (now 51 from which 12 are >M5.0 in the last 24 hours) currently hitting off the coast of Oregon are NOT on the Cascadia Subduction Zone (blue line on the map below).

strong earthquake swarm off Oregon on December 7-8 2021
Another map of the strong earthquake swarm off Oregon on December 7-8 2021. Cascadia subduction zone in blue.

The swarm is taking place on the Blanco Fracture zone, a transform Fault, located at the Juan De Fuca plate as shown in the illustration below.

blanco fault line juan de Fuca Plate
Blanco fault line earthquake swarm along the Juan de Fuca Plate on December 7-8 2021

Quakes of this size and larger near the Blanco Fracture Zone are not uncommon and do not have a history of provoking larger earthquakes. A M6.3 struck nearby in 2003. Along the same fracture zone but closer to land, there was a M6.3 in 2019, a M6.2 in 2018, a M6.0 in 2012, a M6.3 in 2008, a M6.1 in 2000, a M6.3 in 1994, a M6.5 in 1985, and a M6.2 in 1981.

So what’s up with all these quakes?

The Juan de Fuca plate is made up of three semi-independent segments the Juan de Fuca, the Gorda segment and Explorer segment off the Canadian coast (look at the above picture).

The Cascadia trench marks the subduction zone of all three segments and is less than 100 miles from the coastline. Although it is the largest of the three segments, the Juan de Fuca segment is less than 275 miles wide measured from spreading ridge to subduction zone. The three segments subduct beneath North American Plate at different rates. The Explorer segment may no longer be subducting.

Cascadia Subduction Zone and Cascades volcanoes
Cascadia Subduction Zone and Cascade volcanoes

The average rate of convergence between the Juan de Fuca segment and the North American Plate over the past 5 million years is between 9.8 and 13.8 feet per 100 years and the direction is about 49 degree east of north, which implies oblique subduction.

Cascadia subduction rates
Cascadia subduction rates

Stresses from the neighboring North American Plate (right side of the blue line) and Pacific Plate (left side of Juan de Fuca plate) cause frequent earthquakes in the interior of this plate, including the 1980 Eureka earthquake (also known as the Gorda Basin event) that generated a M7.3 earthquake on Nov 8, 1980.

So what’s the connection?

Subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate causes melting and magma generation in the mantle, which rises to the surface that created the Cascade volcanoes. This powerful earthquake swarm could possibly make the volcanoes in that region active again.

If you are interested about the geology and the actual volcanic and seismic risks in the Cascadia region, you should watch the movie below:

As you may have now understood it, Yellowstone is a distraction! The Big One is Cascadia!

Be ready; get prepared! [Facebook]

Now subscribe to this blog to get more amazing news curated just for you right in your inbox on a daily basis (here an example of our new newsletter).

You can also follow us on Facebook and/ or Twitter. And, by the way you can also make a donation through Paypal. Thank you!

You should really subscribe to QFiles. You will get very interesting information about strange events around the world.

qfiles by steve quayle

8 Comments

  1. Dutchsinse does not know a lot of the important aspects of earthquakes which is the volcanoes.
    USGS has long known about the transfer of energy. That’s how they know where the hot spots of earthquakes occur. But you have to know volcanism as they go hand in hand. Dutch puts out pretty good information most of the time in an entertaining way.

  2. Not that Ben Davidson is wrong. But much of what he presents as new information has been known for decades. It just no longer or has never been on the internet. Just most people don’t realize it as they only recently started paying attention. Other trouble is he is a narcissist like many of his generation that are on the internet. he also presents himself as a scientist and that’s what most think he is. But he has no degree in science. It is in business, plus he has a law degree.
    For the best in earthquake coverage one should follow Dutch sense. He readily admits he has a 12th grade education. it is humble enough to admit when he’s wrong. ( when was the last time you ever heard Ben say he made a mistake). Dutch truly has figured out the science behind earthquakes enough that he can forecast the magnitude and where within 50 Mi with a 10-day time frame. And he will fully explain each time how it’s done. After a while you can do your own forecasting with accuracy.

  3. Since about 2010 I have been watching a 188 day earthquake cycle of a 7.0 or larger pattern. From 2010 to 2018 on average it has been correct to within 2.8 days and average size 7.3. The next 188 day timeframe is Dec 30th. This is no joke folks. Heads up.

    • Not that Ben Davidson is wrong. But much of what he presents as new information has been known for decades. It just no longer or has never been on the internet. Just most people don’t realize it as they only recently started paying attention. Other trouble is he is a narcissist like many of his generation that are on the internet. he also presents himself as a scientist and that’s what most think he is. But he has no degree in science. It is in business, plus he has a law degree.
      For the best in earthquake coverage one should follow Dutch sense. He readily admits he has a 12th grade education. it is humble enough to admit when he’s wrong. ( when was the last time you ever heard Ben say he made a mistake). Dutch truly has figured out the science behind earthquakes enough that he can forecast the magnitude and where within 50 Mi with a 10-day time frame. And he will fully explain each time how it’s done. After a while you can do your own forecasting with accuracy.

  4. My brother lives in Oregon. He’s not a lefty. I always discuss the geology and seismic activity with him when I read articles here. We used to build Estes rockets, and launch them when we were youngsters. I hope the seismic activity doesn’t offer a prelude to volcanic activity.

Leave a reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.