First published 2011
The Cascadia Subduction Zone runs fifty kilometers offshore from northern Vancouver Island to northern California. This underwater crack spans 1,100 kilometers and produces massive earthquakes every five centuries. Scientists estimate a thirty percent probability of the next major quake striking within fifty years. The fault mirrors the Sumatra system that caused the 2004 disaster. When Cascadia ruptures, it will create a magnitude nine earthquake or larger. The tremors will devastate multiple metropolitan areas simultaneously: Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, Portland, and Sacramento. Dozens of smaller coastal communities will face destruction without means to request aid from neighboring regions. The earthquake will trigger tsunamis across the Pacific. Winchester, who has reported on this geological threat for twenty-five years, examines the science behind this future catastrophe and its inevitable consequences for millions of residents along the Pacific Northwest coast.
Genres: science, natural-history, adventure, non-fiction
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: California, Canada, Oregon, Pacific Ocean, Sumatra, Vancouver Island, Washington
Period: 21st Century
352 pages · Kindle Edition · HarperCollins Publishers