The Role of Subduction Zone Processes in the Cultural History of the Cascade Region

Abstract

The Cascadia subduction zone continuously shapes the landscape of the Pacific Northwest of North America and the cultures of its inhabitants. The impacts of subduction processes on Pacific Northwest societies and cultures are varied, but Native Americans and European settler cultures alike have described geological processes through oral histories and have relied on resources provided by the subduction zone. Indigenous peoples focus many aspects of their religious practices and art around the geohazards of the Cascadia region, and our melded modern cultures continue to take part in storytelling related to subduction zone hazards through movies and other forms of narration.