Western Quebec Seismic Zone

Location of the Western Quebec Seismic Zone

The Western Quebec Seismic Zone (French: Zone sismique de l'Ouest du Québec) is a seismically active area in the Ottawa Valley in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec. The zone stretches from Montreal to Témiscaming and from Cornwall up along the Laurentian Mountains.

Significant earthquakes associated with this seismic zone include the 1732 Montreal earthquake, the 1935 Timiskaming earthquake, the 1944 Cornwall–Massena earthquake, and the 2010 Central Canada earthquake.

Between the years 1980 and 2000 there were 16 earthquakes stronger than a Richter 4.0, with many more of a lesser magnitude. The zone averages about one seismic event every five days.[1]

Seismological monitoring of the zone is performed by the Canadian National Seismograph Network.

  1. ^ "The Western Quebec Seismic Zone". Earthquakes Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 1 September 2020.