Professor: Kristen Rahilly
4 credits
On January 26, 1700, large waves of ocean water hit the coast of Japan in what is called a tsunami. Japan had experienced large tsunamis caused by earthquakes in the ocean before - but this one was weird! The historical record in Japan did not describe any shaking associated with an earthquake. This is because the earthquake that caused this tsunami occurred over 5,000 miles away, along the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Many people know this as "The Big One": a large magnitude (9.0) earthquake that has occurred here in the Pacific Northwest in the past and will very likely occur here again in the future. Our class will dig into the misconceptions surrounding this hazard impacting our region. We will be geologists identifying what we know and don't know about "The Big One" and will consider the policy that determines how prepared we are for a future "Big One".