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| Date | August 22, 1949 |
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| Magnitude | 8.1 Ms |
| Countries or regions | Canada |
| Max. intensity | VIII - Destructive |
| Casualties | None |
The Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake of 1949 was a magnitude 8.1 interplate earthquake that struck the sparsely populated Queen Charlotte Islands and the Pacific Northwest coast on August 22, 1949. It is one of the world's greatest earthquakes.[1] The main shock epicenter began in the ocean bottom just offshore the rugged coast of Graham Island. It ruptured along the Queen Charlotte Fault both northward and southward more than 500 km (311 mi). Shaking was felt throughout British Columbia, parts of Washington, Oregon, Alberta, the Yukon, and Alaska.[2] No deaths were reported in this earthquake.[3]
This earthquake, larger than the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, is Canada's largest earthquake recorded by seismometers. However, the greatest earthquake in Canadian history was the 1700 Cascadia earthquake, a megathrust earthquake that occurred along the Pacific Northwest coast from Northern California to southwestern British Columbia which reached magnitude 9 on the Richter magnitude scale.[4]
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The 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake was caused by a rupture on the Queen Charlotte Fault, which forms part of the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates. This fault runs from northern Vancouver Island, west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, up to the Gulf of Alaska. The earthquake ruptured the fault for a distance more than 500 km (311 mi).[3]
Although nobody was killed in this earthquake, people and animals were knocked off their feet and there were landslides and other damage. Chimneys tumbled, and an oil tank at Cumahewa Inlet collapsed. In the service community of Terrace, away on the mainland, cars were bounced around, and standing on the street was described as "like being on the heaving deck of a ship at sea".[2] In the port city of Prince Rupert, windows were destroyed and buildings swung.[3]