1935 Timiskaming earthquake

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1935 Temiskamingue earthquake
Date November 1, 1935 (1935-11)
Magnitude 6.2 Mw
Depth 200 km (124 mi)
Epicenter 46°47′00″N 79°04′00″W / 46.78333°N 79.066667°W / 46.78333; -79.066667[1]
Countries or regions  Canada
Max. intensity VII - Very Strong

The 1935 Temiskamingue earthquake was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that occurred on November 1, 1935 in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec. It is one of the major earthquakes that have occurred in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone.[2]

Earthquake

The earthquake had its epicentre on a thrust fault in the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben, approximately 10 kilometres north east of Témiscamingue, and occurred at 1:03 a.m. ET. The earthquake was felt over a wide swath of North America, extending west to Fort William (now Thunder Bay), east to Fredericton, New Brunswick, north to James Bay and south as far as Kentucky and West Virginia. Occasional aftershocks were also reported for several months following the earthquake.

Damage

Although the most significant damage connected to the earthquake was to chimneys, both in the immediate area and as far south as North Bay and Mattawa, a railroad embankment near Parent, 300 km away, also collapsed as a result of the earthquake. Researcher E. A. Hodgson later concluded that the embankment slide was already imminent, and was merely hastened by the earthquake vibrations.[3] Some rockfalls and structural cracks were also reported, although there were few major structural collapses aside from the Parent embankment. The relative lack of major damage, despite the fact that it was a strong earthquake, has been attributed primarily to the sparseness of the area's population.

Other events

The 2000 Kipawa earthquake on January 1, with a magnitude of 5.2, had its epicentre at Lake Kipawa, very near the epicentre of the 1935 quake.

References

  1. The Temiskamingue Earthquake of November 1, 1935. The Location of the Epicentre and Determination of Focal Depth. Hodgson, E. A. Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, 1936, Vol. 30, pp.120
  2. The Western Quebec Seismic Zone
  3. Hodgson, Ernest A. (1937) "Progress Report on the Research Connected with the Timiskaming Earthquake of November 1, 1935" Earthquake Notes 8: p. 76
Sources

External links

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