Seattle Fault

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The Seattle Fault cuts across Puget Sound and into Seattle itself.

The Seattle Fault is a geologic fault in the North American Plate that runs from the Issaquah Alps to Hood Canal in Washington. It has a depth of approximately 8 miles. It passes through Seattle, Washington just south of Downtown and is believed to be capable of generating an earthquake of at least 7.0 on the Richter scale. The Seattle Fault therefore has the potential to cause extensive damage to the city, as much of Pioneer Square and the Industrial District is built on fill, as is the downtown waterfront, which is supported by the Alaskan Way Seawall.

The Seattle Fault had not been responsible for an earthquake since the city's settlement in the 1850s. A major earthquake on the Seattle Fault is believed to have occurred 1100 years ago around 900 AD. On February 28, 2001, a state of emergency was declared after the Nisqually Earthquake, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake, rocked the region. However, because of the shallowness of the Seattle Fault, an earthquake of the same magnitude could do up to eight times more damage.^[1]