The Columbia River has sawed its way to the sea as a mountain range grew up around it. There is history to be read in the walls of the gorge, including history of the mountains’ rise.

EarthScope Consortium will be one of 16 institutions participating in the new NSF-funded Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center (CRESCENT), which will study the Cascadia subduction zone and improve earthquake resiliency and preparedness across the Pacific Northwest.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone is not your typical subduction zone. It is characterized by unique “slow slip events” that occur in the intervals between megathrust earthquakes along the fault.