Two quakes strike near underwater volcano poised to erupt off US West Coast
Two major earthquakes struck off the coast of Oregon on Wednesday, just miles from the summit of Axial Seamount, a massive underwater volcano expected to erupt soon.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 4.8 magnitude quake at 9:42 a.m. ET, located just 25 miles from the volcano’s caldera, followed 18 minutes later by a 5.4 magnitude tremor roughly 70 miles closer to the Oregon coast, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Axial Seamount, the most active volcano in the Pacific Northwest, is a mile-wide underwater volcano situated 300 miles off Oregon’s coast and more than 4,900 feet below the Pacific Ocean surface.
No tsunami warnings have been issued, and Americans along the West Coast are unlikely to feel any shaking from the seaquakes.
Researchers studying Axial Seamount have noted that significant seismic activity often precedes its eruptions.
The volcano last erupted in 2015, but scientists recorded over 2,000 small earthquakes in a single day this summer, signaling increasing instability.
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