i'm in general agreement with Benjamin.

I have come to the conclusion that OR might be more at risk than CA for the next serious quake. especially the southern half of OR (and top 1/4 of California) due to a quake on the southern Cascadia fault. I couldn't predict how big, but would not be surprised at 8 or 8.5. it will be rough on the coastal towns. but seismologists have been trying to get the message out.

if OR goes down, then I think a large quake on the southern San Andreas (epicenter near Palm Springs) will follow. So CA will be hit ... not too much later.

the worst-case event is that these two quakes link up - a possibility that seismologists used to deny until they were blue in the face. but I noticed that Caltech scientists changed their minds in the last year, and admit a "chain reaction" quake could happen. in that case, if the Cascadia and San Andreas do join up then Benajmin will get his "wish" ... a massive quake of 9 or 9.5 that travels for hundreds of miles. If that happens, take your World Atlas off your bookshelf and cross off the entire west coast of the USA. it won't be worth contemplating.

Pete2