Seattle Fault

Seattle Fault
The Seattle Fault cuts across Puget Sound and into Seattle itself. Restoration Point in the foreground, Alki Point is barely seen at the right edge of the picture.
EtymologySeattle
Coordinates47°36′36″N 122°19′59″W / 47.610°N 122.333°W / 47.610; -122.333
CountryUnited States
StateWashington
CitiesSeattle
Characteristics
Part ofPuget Sound faults
Length70 km (43 mi)
Tectonics
PlateNorth American
StatusActive
Earthquakesc. 900 CE
TypeThrust fault
MovementReverse
AgeEocene-recent (40-0 Ma)

The Seattle Fault is a zone of multiple shallow east–west thrust faults that cross the Puget Sound Lowland and through Seattle (in the U.S. state of Washington) in the vicinity of Interstate Highway 90. The Seattle Fault was first recognized as a significant seismic hazard in 1992, when a set of reports showed that about 1,100 years ago it was the scene of a major earthquake of about magnitude 7 – an event that entered Native American oral traditions. Extensive research has since shown the Seattle Fault to be part of a regional system of faults.