45-mile hidden fault line along Canada’s Vancouver Island may trigger massive Tsunami

Hidden beneath the lush forest coverage of Canada’s Vancouver Island, researchers have uncovered a new geological threat—a 45-mile fault line known as the XEOLXELEK-Elk Lake fault (XELF).

Geologists, mineralogists, and Earth and ocean scientists, prompted by evidence of an ancient earthquake on the Saanich Peninsula between 4,700 and 2,300 years ago, now say that there is a tsunami risk this newly discovered fault poses.

“In the northern Cascadia forearc on the west coast of North America, high-resolution topography and geologic mapping show a [approximately] 2.3-m-high scarp across a [approximately] 14,000-year-old land surface 10 km [6.2 miles] north of downtown Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,” revealed the international team of researchers from France, the US, and Canada.

Finding the fault line initially proved challenging due to the dense forest but extensive research methodologies such as shallow geophysical surveys, historical image analysis, and remote sensing proved fruitful in gaining insights.

The team identified minerals in the rocks indicating changes in the magnetic field over time—a clear sign of rock formations being pulled apart or broken, strongly implying the presence of a fault line.

If an earthquake were to occur along this fault line, it could unleash a tsunami with catastrophic consequences for approximately 400,000 inhabitants in the Greater Victoria region of Canada and potentially impact cities along the US West Coast, including Seattle, Bellingham, Olympia, and Tacoma, the findings of the report said. 

“This newly identified fault, the XEOLXELEK-Elk Lake fault (XELF), crosses Saanich Peninsula within Greater Victoria and poses a hazard to the region’s [approximately] 400,000 inhabitants,” as per the researchers.

The fault, which runs northwest to southeast for about 45 miles, maybe a slip-dip fault, where rocks move vertically up and down against each other. According to the researchers, a seismic event at this faultline could trigger a local tsunami in the waters surrounding Greater Victoria.

“Determining whether it produced recent large earthquakes is important for updating regional earthquake hazard models and increasing earthquake preparedness,” the researchers said. 

(With inputs from agencies)