Editorial

Canada Experienced Almost 2,000 Earthquakes In A Single Day. But Why?

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Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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Almost 2,000 earthquakes rippled along the ocean floor near Canada in a single day in March. But why?

The quakes rocked through an area called the Endeavor site, located about 150 miles from Vancouver Island, according to Live Science. This part of the ocean is home to a slew of hydrothermal vents along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, where the ocean is gradually spreading apart due to the movement of plate tectonics.

Live Science was quick to note that this region is not the same one that could literally destroy America, but it’s not far off. The quakes emanating from the Endeavor site are small enough to suggest a new portion of the ocean floor is being birthed as you read this article.

“The vast majority are less than magnitude one. They’re these little pops,” University of Washington doctoral candidate Zoe Krauss told the outlet. “But it’s pretty cool because it allows us to track where things are happening, where things are breaking and where things are moving around.”

The quakes seemed to calm a little after March 6, though activity in the region is still higher than usual. So, is this something to worry about?

Probably not. But there is a subduction zone off the coast of Vancouver that has, can, and probably will cause mass devastation across the American continent. It’s called the Cascadia Fault. And it’s the scariest thing you’ll learn about all day. (RELATED: Dear Kay: I Watched ‘Ancient Apocalypse’ And Now I’m Scared We’re Going To Die Before 2025)

Geologists believe the Cascadia subduction zone, which stretches from northern California through to British Columbia, is overdue for a major magnitude 9.0 or larger quake. Previous quakes along the fault saw hundred-foot tsunamis devastate coastal areas that are now home to nuclear power plants, Oregon.gov noted.

An article written almost a decade ago claimed that Cascadia will eventually give us “the really big one” and probably devastate the Pacific Northwest. There was even talk while I was at university of Cascadia being powerful enough to trigger a super-eruption at Yellowstone National Park. If both of these things happen at the same time, America might literally not exist anymore.