You are here

325 years and counting

This sign is tucked away near the foot of the main street in Manzanita. I saw it shortly after I moved to the coast. I haven’t stopped thinking about the Cascadia Subduction Zone since.

“You are here.” Such an understated observation, in contrast to the big red saw that is poised to chew up the Pacific Northwest. It looks like a cold front, but it’s not blue. The power of graphic design. After seeing this, I did more research. I learned what subduction is. I learned that this zone, where two tectonic plates are pushing up against each other, is less than 100 miles off the coast, and the resulting tsunami would reach us in minutes. This sign made something clear that I had buried in my subconscious: I’ve chosen to live in a location that could be wiped out at any moment.

And that led to the bracing acceptance of the fact that everything can change in an instant. We have fires and storms and flooding here too. I can’t know what will happen in the future. The one thing I do know is captured in that little phrase: I am here.

The story behind the discovery of the subduction zone and its potential impact is fascinating. I recommend The Next Tsunami: Living On A Restless Coast by Bonnie Henderson, which weaves together the stories of the scientists and historians who identified the Cascadia Subduction Zone and determined when the last tsunami happened. Thanks to historical records in Japan, we know it occurred January 26, 1700—325 years ago this week. Usually when I tell people about the CSZ and the tsunamis, they ask me when the next one will be. Scientists estimate they’ve occurred every 500 years on the average, but the interval varies from 210 to 900 years. The unavoidable answer is we don’t really know.

We are here, and we live with uncertainty.

Metaphor Monday #12