The Western Quebec Seismic Zone is a large seismically active area that surrounds the Ottawa Valley from Montreal to Témiscaming, as well as the Laurentian Mountains and Eastern Ontario.[1] It is monitored by a local seismographic network which is synced to the Canadian National Seismic network. It can detect any earthquake rated over 2 on the Richter scale. Since a 2.5 is the lowest level earthquake that people can feel, the monitoring system detects any event of relevance. In addition to large earthquakes, the zone also has many minor events with 16 that ranked over a 4 on the Richter scale between 1980 and 2000. On average, there is one event every five days. [1] Significant earthquakes associated with this seismic zone include a magnitude 5.8 earthquake in Montreal, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue area and a magnitude 5.6 earthquake at the Ontario and New York border.[1]
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Being the most distant recorded earthquake, there is not much information on it. What is known is that it was a very powerful quake, leaving much devastation but few deaths. It ranked an 5.8 on the Richter scale causing panic, cracking the ground, and damaging most buildings even destroying foundations on some. Accounts say that the quake could still be felt for several days after the fact indicating some subsequent smaller quakes.[1]
At the epicenter of the 1935 Timiskaming earthquake, cracks in the gravel and sand could be seen. Almost all chimneys were damaged or destroyed, and some cracks developed in brick walls. These conditions persisted even 110 km away from the epicenter of the earthquake. The day after the earthquake, the Tee Lake, very near the epicenter, was clouded. It is suspected that sediment which was previously undisturbed was shaken up by the quake.These conditions earned it a 7 on the Modified Mercalli Scale[1]
Though it was only ranked a 5.8 on the Richter Scale, the Cornwall earthquake did considerable damage, also ranking a 7 on the Modified Mercalli Scale. Roughly 2000 chimneys were damaged or destroyed. The school suffered heavy damage with brick falling through the roof of their gym. Most two story buildings were also damaged. [1]
On June 23, 2010 at 1:41:42 EST a 5.0 magnitude earthquake 32 km north of Buckingham, Quebec at a depth of 18 km was felt throughout Western Quebec, Ottawa, and other parts of Ontario, and as far away as Ohio, Michigan, New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Maryland in the U.S. [2]