1872 North Cascades earthquake

1872 North Cascades earthquake
Wenatchee Ross Lake Olympia Chilliwack Astoria Fort Lapwai Portland Entiat Proposed epicenter at Lake Chelan
Date	December 15, 1872 (1872-12-15)
Origin time	5:40 a.m (local) ^[1]
Magnitude	6.5–7.0 (est) ^[2]
Epicenter	47°54′N 120°18′W / 47.9°N 120.3°W / 47.9; -120.3Coordinates: 47°54′N 120°18′W / 47.9°N 120.3°W / 47.9; -120.3 ^[1]
Type	Unknown
Areas affected	Pacific Northwest
Max. intensity	VIII (Severe) ^[3]
Casualties	None

The 1872 North Cascades earthquake occurred at 5:40 a.m. local time in northern Washington state on December 15. A maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) was assessed for several locations, though less intense shaking was observed at many other locations in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. Some of these intermediate outlying areas reported V (Moderate) to VII (Very Strong) shaking, but intensities as high as IV (Light) were reported as far distant as Idaho and Montana. Due to the remote location of the mainshock and a series of strong aftershocks, damage to man made structures was limited to a few cabins close to the areas of the highest intensity.

Because the earthquake occurred before seismometers were operating in the region, the magnitude of the shock and its location were never precisely determined, but the intensity reports that are available for the event were studied, and various epicenters for the event were proposed based on these limited data. One study presented an estimated moment magnitude of 6.5–7.0, with a proposed location on the east side of the Cascade Range near Lake Chelan. The results of a separate study indicated that it may have been a larger event, placing the shock in the North Cascades, just south of the Canada–United States border at Ross Lake.

Preface

The Cascadia subduction zone rarely influences the western portion of Washington state, but the November 1873 M7.3 shock near the California–Oregon border may have been associated with it. Although activity in the Pacific Northwest (especially west of the Cascades in Washington) has occasionally been located near the subduction zone, earthquakes there (1949 Olympia, 1965 Olympia, 2001 Nisqually) have mostly been intraslab events. A large M7 earthquake on the Seattle Fault in 900 C.E. may have generated a tsunami in Puget Sound. The 1872 event east of the cascades is not understood well due to the lack of instrumental records and reliable felt intensity reports.^[4]^[5]

Earthquake

Isoseismal map for the event

As there were only six seismometers operating in Washington state and western British Columbia even as late as 1969, there are insufficient instrumental records for older events in the region. Focal depths are unknown for shocks that occurred before that time, but seismologists Bakun et al. concluded that the event occurred on a shallow fault on the east side of the Cascade Range. They employed a method that was developed by W. H. Bakun and C. M. Wentworth for using earthquake intensity information that could be mapped to a corresponding moment magnitude. The intensities for twelve 20th-century Pacific Northwest earthquakes were used for calibration before analyzing the known intensities for the 1872 event in an attempt to resolve the location and magnitude. The reports were interpreted in a way that placed the epicenter near the south end of Lake Chelan, but other considerations left other plausible focal points both north and northeast of the lake. The magnitude was estimated to be 6.5–7.0 with 95% confidence.^[6]

Using a similar strategy, S. D. Malone and S. Bor analyzed the known intensities for the 1872 shock, then compared intensity patterns for a number of instrumentally recorded earthquakes that also occurred in the Pacific Northwest. A factor that was taken into consideration was that for earthquakes that have either circular or slightly elliptical isoseismal maps, the epicenter is usually close to the center of the pattern, but that for shocks where instrumental information are also available, the epicenter is sometimes not where it would have been assumed to be, had only the intensity information (and no instrumental information) been available. An isoseismal map of the 1949 Olympia earthquake was presented as an example of a distorted or convoluted pattern that was attributed to local geological conditions that either attenuated or amplified the seismic waves, and it was emphasized that not taking into account these local features could lead to a misinterpretation of the felt intensities and to a misplaced epicenter.^[7]

Malone and Bor ran three simulations, with a projected M7.4 event occurring at a depth of 37 miles (60 km), but took into consideration the differences in attenuation both east and west of the Cascades. Three exploratory locations were investigated, including the setting at the south end of Lake Chelan that reportedly had significant ground disturbances, their preferred location near Ross Lake, and a third location north of the Canada–United States border that had been proposed much earlier by W. G. Milne. The Ross Lake site was chosen because it most closely matched their isoseismal pattern, but it was not strongly preferred over the Milne site, and the Lake Chelan location was excluded as being the epicenter, due to the regional attenuation characteristics that required a location further to the west. Several depths were investigated, but each had little impact on the isoseismal patterns below intensity VI, and since most northwest earthquakes occur between 25–37 miles (40–60 km) deep, they believe the shock was also near that depth, but did not dismiss the possibility that it was a shallower event.^[8]

MMI	Locations
Selected Mercalli intensities
VIII (Severe)	Entiat, WA, Wenatchee, WA
VII (Very Strong)	Osoyoos Lake, B.C., Chilliwack, B.C.
VI (Strong)	Nicola Valley, B.C., Olympia, WA
V (Moderate)	Astoria, OR, Portland, OR
IV (Light)	Fort Lapwai, ID, Deer Lodge, MT
Bakun et al. 2002, pp. 3256, 3257

Damage

Though the earthquake was felt over a very wide area (from the Pacific Ocean to Montana, and British Columbia to Oregon) the area that was most affected was largely unpopulated, and very few homes existed. A log building that was built on unconsolidated river sediment close to the mouth of the Wenatchee River had dislodged roof logs, and the kitchen became detached from the rest of the structure. Another log cabin between Entiat and Winesap also had roof damage. Mercalli intensities as high as VI (Strong) reached the western portion of the state, near the highly populated Puget Sound region, and to the southeast beyond where the Hanford nuclear reactor site later stood.^[1]

Aftershocks

Further information: Aftershock

A relationship exists between the depth of the mainshock and the occurrence of aftershocks, and several Pacific Northwest earthquakes illustrate this link, like the February 1981 M5.5 Elk Lake event in southwest Washington that was followed by more than 1,000 in the first two years. The M7.3 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake in Montana had a significant sequence of aftershocks, and the shallow M7 1983 Borah Peak event was followed by four aftershocks. In opposition, the intraslab events (and crustal shocks above the subduction zone) on the west side of the Cascades have had insignificant aftershock sequences, usually amounting to a minimal number of small aftershocks. For example, the 2001 Nisqually shock occurred nearly 18.6 miles (30 km) deep and was followed by only four small aftershocks, and there was a similar procession for the 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake, a M7.6 crustal shock that also had a focal depth near 18.6 miles (30 km).^[6]

Aftershocks did follow the 1872 event, and during the initial 24 hours they were strong enough to be felt over a broad area, from Idaho and into southern British Columbia. The intensity of the shocks waned as time passed, and after a year they were still occurring, but were only being felt at Wenatchee, Lake Chelan, and Entiat. Bakun et al. listed the considerable aftershock sequence as a strong indication that the initial event was shallow.^[2]

References

1 2 3 Stover, C. W.; Coffman, J. L. (1993), Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, pp. 380, 382–384
1 2 Bakun et al. 2002, p. 3253
↑ Bakun et al. 2002, pp. 3256, 3257
↑ Bakun et al. 2002, p. 3239
↑ Atwater, B. F.; Moore, A. L. (1992). "A Tsunami About 1000 Years Ago in Puget Sound, Washington". Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 258 (5088): 1614–1617. doi:10.1126/science.258.5088.1614.
1 2 Bakun et al. 2002, pp. 3239, 3240, 3248, 3251
↑ Malone & Bor 1979, pp. 531, 532
↑ Malone & Bor 1979, pp. 543–546

Sources

Bakun, W. H.; Haugerud, R. A.; Hopper, M. G.; Ludwin, R. S. (2002), "The December 1872 Washington State Earthquake", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Seismological Society of America) 92 (8): 3239–3258, doi:10.1785/0120010274
Bakun, W. H.; Wentworth, C. M. (1997), "Estimating earthquake location and magnitude from seismic intensity data", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Seismological Society of America) 87 (6): 1502–1521
Malone, S. D.; Bor, S. (1979), "Attenuation patterns in the Pacific Northwest based on intensity data and the location of the 1872 North Cascades earthquake", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (Seismological Society of America) 69 (2): 531–546

External links

Scientists may be cracking mystery of big 1872 earthquake – The Seattle Times

Earthquakes in Washington (state)

1700 Cascadia (8.7 – 9.2) 1872 North Cascades (6.5 – 7.0) 1946 Vancouver Island (7.3) 1949 Olympia (6.7) 1965 Olympia (6.7) 1996 Duvall (5.1) 2001 Nisqually (6.8)

Earthquakes in the United States

Historical	1638 New Hampshire 1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1755 Cape Ann 1811–12 New Madrid 1812 Wrightwood 1857 Fort Tejon 1865 Memphis 1867 Manhattan, Kansas 1868 Hawaii 1868 Hayward 1872 Lone Pine 1872 North Cascades 1886 Charleston 1887 Sonora 1892 Laguna Salada

20th-century	1906 San Francisco 1906 Aleutian Islands 1909 Wabash River 1915 Pleasant Valley 1916 Irondale 1925 Santa Barbara 1931 Valentine 1933 Long Beach 1935 Helena 1940 El Centro 1940 New Hampshire 1944 Cornwall–Massena 1946 Aleutian Islands 1947 Wisconsin 1948 Desert Hot Springs 1949 Olympia 1952 Kern County 1957 Andreanof Islands 1957 San Francisco 1959 Hebgen Lake 1964 Alaska 1965 Rat Islands 1965 Olympia 1968 Illinois 1969 Santa Rosa 1971 San Fernando 1975 Near Islands 1975 Morris 1975 Hawaii 1979 Coyote Lake 1979 Imperial Valley 1980 Eureka 1983 Coalinga 1983 Borah Peak 1984 Morgan Hill 1986 North Palm Springs 1986 Chalfant Valley 1987 Whittier Narrows 1989 Loma Prieta 1991 Sierra Madre 1992 Cape Mendocino 1992 Landers 1992 Big Bear 1993 Scotts Mills 1993 Klamath Falls 1994 Northridge 1995 Marathon 1996 Duvall 1998 Pymatuning 1999 Hector Mine 2000 Yountville

21st-century	2001 Nisqually 2002 Denali 2003 Alabama 2003 San Simeon 2006 Gulf of Mexico 2006 Hawaii 2007 Alum Rock 2007 Andreanof Islands 2008 Illinois 2008 Chino Hills 2010 Eureka 2010 Illinois 2010 Baja California 2010 Indiana 2011 Colorado 2011 Virginia 2011 Oklahoma 2014 Aleutian Islands 2014 Southeast Alaska 2014 South Napa

Swarms	2001 Enola 2008 Reno 2010–11 Guy-Greenbrier 2012 Brawley 2009–16 Oklahoma

Earthquakes in Canada

Historical	1663 Charlevoix 1700 Cascadia 1732 Montreal 1872 North Cascades

20th Century	1918 Vancouver Island 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska 1929 Grand Banks 1933 Baffin Bay 1935 Timiskaming 1944 Cornwall–Massena 1946 Vancouver Island 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands 1985 Nahanni 1988 Saguenay 1989 Ungava 1997 Cap-Rouge

21st Century	2000 Kipawa 2001 Nisqually 2007–2008 Nazko 2010 Central Canada 2012 Haida Gwaii

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