Strange Sounds – March 24, 2020
Mount Hood is a potentially active stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon.
Researchers have newly discovered active fault lines on Mount Hood that could potentially trigger a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, devastating communities and infrastructure as far west as Portland.
As shown in the maps and video below, the newly discovered fault networks are located to the north, south and southwest of Mt. Hood and extend to the Columbia River.
A 7.2 magnitude earthquake is larger than the 1989 earthquake near the San Francisco Bay Area.
Moreover, the faults on Mount Hood are closer to Portland that the epicenter of the 1989 earthquake was to San Francisco.
This would be a crustal earthquake as opposed to the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake Portland has been bracing for.
Subduction zone quakes are deeper below the surface, they last longer — as long as seven minutes — but they are lower in amplitude.
The kind of quake we would get from Mt. Hood would be shorter — 20 seconds to less than a minute — and would be strong enough to knock you off your feet.