Right, Ebbie. I forgot about Mt. Redoubt and it's nervous-making siblings studding Alaska.

The whole West Coast is on major faults and is part of what's known as "the Ring of Fire." Washington State's volcanoes–and for that matter, the Cascade Mountain Range–was (is) caused by the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate sliding under the North American plate. That's also the bit of continental drift that has people a bit nervous about "The Big One," a 9+ earthquake and its resultant tsunamis. The geological record shows that there was a real doozy about 300 years ago, and pressure has been building up since then.

Earthquakes and volcanoes are related. Both are the result of continental drift.

As I say, I'm glad someone is minding the store.

Don Firth