Cascadia's Fault

April 4, 2011
The recent seismic catastrophe in Japan is a foretaste of a similar cataclysm brewing in America, according to this alarming geological exposé. Thompson, a former Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter and documentarian, investigates the Cascadia Subduction Zone, an 800-mile-long fault where the ocean floor slowly grinds away underneath the North American continental plate. The fault has a millennia-long history of causing major quakes, including magnitude-9 monsters and 90-foot waves that could lay waste to Vancouver, Seattle, and dozens of coastal towns. But because no written records of this history exist and the fault has been quiescent since 1700, geologists were unaware of the danger. How they uncovered the violent history of this deceptively placid area, long a subject of academic controversy, is the fascinating scientific detective story at the heart of Thompson's account. He follows along as researchers piece together clues from ocean sediment core samples and tree rings, antique Japanese manuscripts, and laser gadgets and GPS devices that measure the inch-a-year movements of mountain chains; he blanches as their computer models illustrate the devastating impact of tsunamis and the fatal rhythms through which skyscrapers resonate to a temblor's shocks. The result is a lucid, engrossing look at the Earth's subtle dynamicsâand a timely warning about their awesome power very close to home.

May 15, 2011
Despite its fear-mongering subtitle, this is a level-headed look at a potentially devastating natural disaster. Prompted by a massive earthquake in 1985 that caused widespread destruction in Mexico City, Canadian television journalist Thompson began researching a potential disaster zone much closer to home: the Cascadia Subduction Zone (once known as the Juan de Fuca plate), an 800-mile fault under the Pacific Ocean that, some experts say, has a 70 percent chance of producing a massive earthquake off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. This fascinating book explores the Cascadia Subduction Zone and the research surrounding it, while, at the same time, offering readers a broader picture: the story of earthquake science and the researchers who, even today, are making new discoveries that could help predict (if not actually prevent) major earthquakes before they happen. The book is tailored for readers interested in weather science, and it is not written in the liveliest of styles; still, given recent events in Japan, a thoughtful, serious book on the subject of earthquakes in the Pacific should be most welcome.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)