Finding Fault(s): Geologists Keep Finding More Nearby Earthquake Makers

Shallow, active earthquake faults are being discovered all over Oregon and Washington state. Collectively, these may present a higher risk than the better known offshore Cascadia subduction zone.

There's a line on a map for an active earthquake fault running through the forested hills on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. But unless you have expert guides, you'd never know you standing right on top of it.

A short bushwhack from the side of a logging road will bring you to a low ridge. It’s basically a linear bump on the landscape.

"Probably multiple earthquakes raised it up,” Western Washington University geologist Liz Schermer said. “It's flat up here. It's flat down there. They used to be aligned and now they're offset."