Queen Charlotte Fault
The Queen Charlotte Fault is a transform fault, located between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. The fault has been an area with large earthquakes. During the Miocene, the Queen Charlotte region was warmed and thinned so that both of the plates have similar powered structures. Studying the Queen Charlotte Fault would offer further important information in studying the forcefulness of the San Andreas Fault and other likely critical seismogenic zones of the world. The northern extension of the Queen Charlotte Fault is the Fairweather Fault which parallels the southeastern Alaska coast.[1]
Significant earthquakes along the fault
Three large earthquakes have occurred along the Queen Charlotte Fault during the 20th century: a magnitude 7 event in 1929, a magnitude 8.1 occurred in 1949 (Canada's largest recorded earthquake) and a magnitude 7.4 in 1970. The P nodal focal mechanism for the 1949 earthquake indicates virtually pure strike-slip movement with a northwest striking nodal plane corresponding to the strike of the fault, whilst the 1970 earthquake shows a similar strike-slip movement with a small but significant thrust component, consistent with relative plate motion.
| Year | Moment Magnitude | Casualties |
|---|---|---|
| 1929 | 7 | |
| 1949 | 8.1 | |
| 1970 | 7.4 | |
| 2001 | 6.3 | |
| 2004 | 6.8 |
See also
- Queen Charlotte Sound
Queen Charlotte Islands - Pacific Ring of Fire
- San Andreas Fault
References
- ^ Seismic zones in Western Canada Retrieved on 2007-10-03
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