PNSN > Hazards > Subduction Zone Earthquakes > Stories > Still More stories

First Nations and Native American stories that could be about Cascadia megathrust earthquakes compiled by Ruth Ludwin, University of Washington, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences

What did we find? - Consistent earthquake and flood themes in Native literature all along the Cascadia margin from Yurok territory in northern California to Kwakwaka'wakw territory at the northern end of Vancouver Island. These stories refer to earthquake effects metaphorically, rather that providing literal descriptions, and commonly contain references to Thunderbird (or analagous wind figures) and to whale (or analogous water figures).

• Kwakwaka'waka (Kwakiutl) stories and materials - Northern Vancouver Island
• Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka) stories and materials - Outer Coast, southern Vancouver Island
• Makah, Quileute, Hoh, and Clallam stories and materials - Northern Olympic Peninsula, Washington
• Notes on an article about Makah culture, by James G. Swan
• Salish stories and materials - Inner coast of Vancouver Island, Puget Sound, south-western coast of Washington
• Tillamook stories and materials - Northern Oregon coast
• Coos and Alsea stories and materials - Mid-Oregon Coast
• Yurok stories and materials - Northern California Coast Inland Washington
• European stories linking earthquakes and thunder
• Notes on The Way of the Masks by Claude Levi-Strauss - A whole book on Pacific Northwest earthquake stories - but he missed the thunderbird and whale