Native Stories about Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquakes
Ruth S. Ludwin, Research Scientist
Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network (PNSN)
Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-1310
Great earthquakes along the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) have been taking place
for thousands of years. The most recent CSZ earthquake (estimated magnitude 9)
occurred on January 26, 1700. The exact date was determined from historic records of a
tsunami that struck Japan, and confirmed by tree-ring studies of PNW coastal trees killed
when land level changes plunged their roots into tidal water.
A search of Native American myths, stories, and traditions has revealed an abundance
of accounts from Washington and Oregon that may be connected to Cascadia Subduction
Zone (CSZ) earthquakes. The clearest account is a Quileute story that describes an epic
battle along the coast between the Thunderbird and the Whale. During the struggle there
is a "shaking, jumping up and trembling of the earth beneath, and a rolling up of the great
waters" ("Some Additional Myths of the Hoh and Quileute Indians", Albert B. Reagan,
Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, Vol. XI, 1934, pp. 17-37.) The story of the
Thunderbird and Whale is also the central artistic theme of Native peoples on the west
coast of Vancouver Island.
Variations of the Thunderbird and/or Whale theme are found all along the coast of
Washington and Oregon, and these stories often contain descriptions or metaphors
consistent with strong ground shaking, permanent land level changes, tsunamis, and
aftershocks. Understanding these stories as metaphoric descriptions of actual events with
profound environmental impacts opens a new window into the interpretation of Native
American oral literature. The Native American use of Thunder and Whale as a metaphor
for subduction zone earthquakes has striking similarities to earthquake myths from Japan
and India, and to c. 1700 European scientific ideas on the causes of earthquakes.