Experts warn hidden earthquake threat beneath North America could strike at any moment

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A previously quiet fault line beneath North America is now feared to be a ticking time bomb, and experts warn it could unleash a devastating earthquake with no warning, shaking parts of the US.
Canadian scientists have discovered that the Tintina Fault, located just 12 miles from Dawson City in the Yukon, has been silently building up underground pressure and may be on the verge of erupting in a massive quake.
The fault runs beneath highways, rivers, and critical infrastructure, and stretches into interior Alaska, raising fears it could send tremors into British Columbia, Alberta, and Montana, according to seismologists.
Dr Michael West, state seismologist at Alaska Earthquake Center, told the Daily Mail: 'This new study shows it has been quietly building toward a potentially very large earthquake.'
'It is one of the least studied fault systems in North America, and that needs to change,' he added.
One section alone is approximately 81 miles long and could generate a magnitude 7.5 earthquake or greater, strong enough to shatter roads, destroy pipelines, and trigger landslides across the both Canada and the US.
Researchers warned the consequences could be devastating if the fault breaks, especially since the Tintina Fault has been largely overlooked compared to more famous faults like the San Andreas, that extended over 750 miles through the California.
They said the fault could break along more than 109 miles causing strong earthquakes in northern US communities, including Alaska's Fairbanks North Star Borough, potentially impacting over 125,000 people.
The potential earthquake could significantly affect critical infrastructure like the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, particularly for those living in remote areas with limited earthquake preparedness or emergency response capabilities.
Dr Theron Finley, a recent PhD graduate from University of Victoria and lead author of the study, said: 'The fault may be at a late stage of a seismic cycle.'
'It is quietly built up around 20 inches of slip that could be released in a single catastrophic event.'
This fault has been hiding in plain sight since it was discovered in 1912 by geologist J B Tyrrell, who documented its existence in the Yukon Territory, based on geological surveys.
It stayed suspiciously silent while others rumble, leaving it overlooked by quake monitors and hazard maps.
But scientists now say it is a mature, slow-moving fault, the kind that stays quiet for thousands of years before suddenly unleashing a powerful quake.
'The most dangerous thing is not just that the fault is active,' said West.
'It is that no one's been paying attention to it,' he added.
The study published in Geophysical Research Letters found that parts of ancient glacial landforms have shifted sideways by nearly, 3,200 feet, providing clear evidence of powerful past earthquakes.
(a) A map shows the fault slicing through super old (2.6 million years) Flat Creek Beds (b, c) Models say the fault pushed the Flat Creek edge 4101 feet right and Gravel Lake hills (d) A 3D model shows bumpy, stepped-up land along the fault. (e) A drone pic looking northwest shows the fault path hidden by thick forest. A small photo from a dig spot (blue star) shows round gravel and red-brown dirt from the old 'Wounded Moose' soil at a bump's top.
Researchers used satellite and drone mapping tools, which uncovered scars in the landscape that show this fault has ripped open the Earth's surface multiple times, with the last major rupture more than 12,000 years ago.
Importantly, geologic evidence shows the land has not shifted in a long time, a sign that the fault has stayed locked and is steadily building pressure.
That quiet period may actually be the problem. 'We are not good at thinking about things that happen every 12,000 years,' West said.
'But over that time, it builds up enough motion to create a 7.5 magnitude of quake.'
Seismologists are now concerned as the US Geological Survey's (USGS) recent 2024 Alaska model, a modern earthquake hazard map, do not treat the Tintina Fault as a major risk.
'It is not even recognized as a distinct earthquake source in official models, but the landscape tells a different story,' said Finley.