PORTLAND, OR - The fault line off the Oregon Coast is far more active than previously thought. And Oregon State University researcher finds an 80 percent chance that a quake close to 8.0 magnitude will shake the Oregon Coast in the next 50 years. Correspondent Ethen Lindsey reports.

An 8.0 quake is about the size of the deadly 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Oregon State marine geologist Chris Goldfinger says the Pacific Northwest's coastal fault can actually be broken up into two sections - and the southern part, along Oregon, is home to a higher-frequency of quakes. And his work shows Oregon may trigger California's San Andreas fault.

Chris Goldfinger: "If southern Cascadia goes, it could trigger the San Andreas to go sometime afterwards, anywhere from a few minutes to a few years."

Goldfinger's new info hasn't been published, but he presented it last week at a Geological Society of America conference.

Rob Witter, with the Oregon Department of Geology, says he hopes people aren't scared by the findings.

Rob Witter: "Instead of being fearful, I think we should all take action. And that's what we are doing here, this new data just makes our goal of getting new tsunami evacuation maps out to the public even more critical."

Besides state tsunami maps, the research could be used by insurers and others to better prepare for the big one.

Copyright 2009 OPB

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