The Stories We Tell: The Myth and Science on a Restless Coast

Scientists first identified the existence of a fault line off the Pacific Northwest coast—what we now call the Cascadia Subduction Zone—in the mid-1960s. It took another 20 years before geologists found evidence that that fault line routinely launches massive earthquakes that spawn huge tsunamis. Only then did academics start reexamining stories told by native people from Vancouver Island to Humbolt Bay and collected by anthropologists beginning in the 1800s, realizing that what had long been considered by anthropologists to be myths were, in fact, closer to oral history.

Bonnie Henderson is the author of two nonfiction books from Oregon State University Press: the critically acclaimed _The Next Tsunami: Living on a Restless Coast_ and_ Strand: An Odyssey of Pacific Ocean Debris_, which was listed as a Best Book of 2008 by the Seattle Times and was a finalist for the 2009 Oregon Book Awards. She has also written three hiking guidebooks for Mountaineers Books_: Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail, Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon_ (with co-author Zach Urness), _and Day Hiking: Oregon Coast_. She is a former newspaper and magazine writer and editor and has provided communications for a variety of nonprofits, including North Coast Land Conservancy. She lives in Eugene.

This event will be held at the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum, located at 1387 South Spruce Street, Cannon Beach, OR. Seating for this event is at a limited capacity of 50 people, however people are welcome to stop by to donate. This lecture starts promptly at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. Parking for this event is extremely limited and it is encouraged to arrive early to find parking. This event is part of the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum’s John Williams Lecture Series that occurs every February through June. For more information about this event, visit www.cbhistory.org or call 503-436-9301.