Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Cascadia Earthquakes: Native American Myths and New Scientific Discoveries

Next Tuesday (21st) there will be a public presentation by Rob Witter and James Roddey from DOGAMI. It will be held at the Newport city hall council chambers on April 21 at 6:00pm. The session is open to the public. This should be one of the most authoritative, interesting, and informative talks on the subject.

The Presentation:

Native American oral histories speak of a great shaking followed by a massive flood that has struck our coast in the past. Japanese written records document an "orphan tsunami" that ravaged their coast 309 years ago. Today we know these accounts refer to the last great Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake to strike the Pacific Northwest. We also know one of these mega-quakes and a massive tsunami could strike the Oregon coast at any time.

New scientific discoveries are also showing us that what we thought about these giant earthquakes may be all wrong. Join James Roddey and Rob Witter from the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries as they explore Native American legends, new geologic discoveries in one of the greatest scientific detective stories of the 20th century, all in order to understand what "The Big One" has in store for us.

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