The ghost forests revealed by a 2,000-year-old cataclysm
In short: A massive megathrust earthquake once reshaped the Pacific Northwest in minutes. This video explores how ancient geological evidence provides our only blueprint for predicting the next devastating Cascadia event.
Approximately 2,100 years ago, a seismic event caused the ground to sink by 2 to 6 feet across an area of roughly 55,000 square kilometers—a region comparable in size to West Virginia. This subsidence occurred within just 3 to 5 minutes, submerging healthy coastal forests from Eureka, California, to Vancouver Island.
The resulting tsunami pushed saltwater inland up to 10 miles (16 kilometers), killing the stressed trees and creating 'ghost forests.' Over centuries, sediment deposition and shoreline shifts eventually exposed these petrified remains, serving as a primary geological clue for the impending Cascadia 9.0 earthquake.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Feared Cascadia 9.0 Earthquake: Potential Consequences Are Scary
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