Earthquakes and Fault lines on the West Coast

Earthquakes and Seismic activity are a well-accepted part of life along the west coast due to the sheer abundance of fault lines in this area. Despite the commonality of their occurrences, they still have immense effects on the landscape and geography where they occur. These effects can start a domino effect which can make their presence felt economically and socially much further than any physical effects they may have. That is why it is so important to monitor seismic activity with a close eye. Fox news reported on the U.S. Geological survey is doing exactly this in Washington state after unusual activity was detected at Mount Adams. 

Areas that need to be monitored for seismic activity span the west coast with the relative locations of Washington, Oregon, and California being at much higher risk of earthquakes. This is because of fault lines which run through these states stemming from the Pacific Ocean. More specifically, one of the major faults known as the “San Andreas Fault” can be found at the absolute location coordinates of 35°07′N 119°39′W and it runs through some of California's most populated areas. To monitor these locations, the U.S. geological survey and various other organizations use tools like seismographs to record seismic activity in various locations then plot the collection of data using Geographic Information Science tools that show us a representation of the data on a map.

Seismic activity and earthquakes can have an effect on the physical geography of our world. For instance, one reason why it is important for the Government to monitor the abnormal seismic activity in Washington is because Mount Adams is a volcano. If a volcano were to be disturbed by an earthquake it would be at risk of erupting and causing unforeseeable chaos for the people surrounding it. However, even without setting off something like a volcano, earthquakes can be devastating for people's lives. To counteract this, human geography has adapted to reduce the effects of earthquakes by reinforcing our buildings so that they are less likely to collapse, and people can still live in areas of greater risk of earthquakes. Yet no matter how hard we try, it is nearly impossible to fully negate the effects of earthquakes. Because of this we have to have ways of measuring their impacts and one such way is to assess the scale of how much damage was done in dollars. California estimates that it loses about 9.6 billion dollars a year due to earthquake damage. Another way of measuring areas of high risk is by physically measuring the size of fault lines, for instance the San Andreas fault line mentioned earlier measures about 800 miles long through California putting all of that land in danger. Realistically all fault lines are formal regions in the sense that they have geographical characteristics in common as well as functional regions as they serve the function of facilitating earthquakes.

Realistically earthquakes on their own and especially if they were to set off that volcano in Washington poses such a substantial threat to people's homes, livelihoods, and safety that it could facilitate a migration of people leaving these west coast states with higher risk into inland states that are more seismically stable. Luckily through adaptation and place making, we have developed buildings resistant to earthquakes and methods of detecting seismic activity before it's too late so that people can live in these states and not fear for their safety. 

Wehner, Greg. (2024, October 7th). Spike in earthquakes at Washington volcano prompts more monitoring from scientists. FOX News.  Spike in earthquakes at Washington volcano prompts more monitoring from scientists (msn.com) 

Ogasa, Nikk. (2024, June 7th). Geoscientists found the most dangerous part of a famous West Coast fault. ScienceNews.  Geoscientists found the most dangerous part of a famous West Coast fault (sciencenews.org) 

Bush, Evan. (2024, June 7th). 'The big one': Researchers gain clearest picture yet of fault that threatens the Pacific Northwest. NBC News.  Researchers gain clear picture of fault that threatens Pacific Northwest (nbcnews.com) 

Lin, Rong-Gong. (2023, April 30th). Projected losses from a major California earthquake soar. What’s behind seismic inflation? Los Angeles Times.  Projected losses from a major California earthquake soar. Here's why - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) 

Donovan, Lauren. (2024, October 19th). Earthquake monitors on Mount Adams to be pulled ahead of winter snow. Fox News.  Earthquake monitors on Mount Adams to be pulled ahead of winter snow