SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Northwest Quake Possible
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Recent research off Northern California supports a growing body of evidence indicating that a great earthquake will strike the Pacific Northwest. Researchers Gary Carver and R. M. Burke of Humboldt State University said the temblor could reach a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter scale.
They told a meeting of the Geological Society of America in Phoenix that the massive upheaval could occur “within a few generations,” potentially endangering thousands of lives and structures. Carver and Burke based the study on excavations along the Little Salmon fault near Eureka that showed earthquakes exceeding 8.3 magnitude occurred as recently as 350 years ago in the area.
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