HomeEarthquakes1700 Cascadia Subduction Zone

The 1700 Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake

A great quake with no written record in America — but Japan logged its 'orphan tsunami,' and drowned forests and tree rings date the rupture to a January night in 1700.

Epicenter

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Magnitude
M9.0
estimated magnitude
When
1700
January 26, 1700
Depth
unknown
Deaths
unknown
estimated toll

What happened

The 1700 Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake struck on January 26, 1700, registering magnitude 9.0 (estimated magnitude). Each whole step on the moment-magnitude scale is roughly 32 times more energy, so this released on the order of 31,623× the energy of a magnitude 6.0 earthquake.

Its epicenter was located near 45.00°N, 125.00°W, at a depth of about unknown — . Deep earthquakes are felt across a wide region but are usually less destructive at the surface than shallow ones of the same size.

An estimated unknown people were killed.

Where it struck

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