Washington State suffers through its fair share of natural disasters. The sleeping giant that is the volcano at Mount St. Helens is a constant reminder of the ongoing threat nature poses to the region. However, volcanoes are not the only destructive force that affects the area. Washington has a high risk of earthquakes compared to other states in the country. Discover the most powerful earthquake to ever rumble through Washington State and find out when it struck, how much damage it caused, and more!
What Was the Most Powerful Earthquake to Ever Rumble Through Washington?
The most powerful earthquake to ever rumble through Washington State was the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, an event with a moment magnitude (M w ) of between 8.7 and 9.2. Some readers may find this information surprising. After all, Washington was not as highly populated then as it is now, and people lacked the tools to effectively measure earthquakes’ power.
That is not the only challenge with verifying this quake, though. No surviving written records from North America exist concerning the earthquake. In fact, scientists pieced together proof of the 1700 Cascadia Earthquake from geological records, archaeology expeditions, oral traditions of First Nations people living around the region, and records from Japan concerning a tsunami that struck the island nation many hours later.