M 5.4 - 29 km NNE of Val-des-Monts, Canada

Tectonic Summary

The June 23, 2010 Val-des-Bois, Quebec earthquake occurred at 1:42 pm local (eastern) time 56 km (35 miles) north of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada's capital city. The preliminary estimate of magnitude (M) is 5.0, at a depth of 16 km (10 miles). These estimates may change as more data become available.

This earthquake occurred near the southern edge of the Western Quebec Seismic Zone. Earthquakes within this zone are mostly small. They tend to cluster in a wide area that is slightly elongated northwest-southeast. Historically, earthquakes in the Western Quebec Seismic Zone have caused damage roughly once a decade. Roughly ten events each year are felt in the region but are generally too small to cause damage. Still smaller earthquakes are much more common. The largest earthquakes known in this part of Canada occurred in 1935 (M6.1), about 250 km (150 miles) to the northwest of the Val-des-Bois event, and in 1732 (M6.2), about 150 km (100 miles) to the east of the earthquake. The 1732 earthquake caused significant damage in Montreal. In 1944, the Cornwall-Massena earthquake (M5.8) caused damage near the junction of Ontario, Quebec, and New York State.

Earthquakes the size of the Val-des-Bois event are uncommon east of the Rockies, but many have occurred since the arrival of European settlers three centuries ago. In eastern North America and geologically similar regions worldwide, M5.0 to M5.5 earthquakes typically cause light to moderate damage out to a few tens of kilometers (miles) from the epicenter, depending on the number of people and type of buildings near the epicenter. Typically these earthquakes are felt hundreds of kilometers (miles) away. Earthquakes of this size and depth are unlikely to rupture the Earth's surface, although exceptions are known.

The main faults near this earthquake zone trend northwest. These faults form the Ottawa graben and were most active several hundred million years ago. Some of the faults of the graben have been reactivated one or more times since then. The initial focal mechanism of the Val-des-Bois earthquake suggests reverse faulting on a fault trending southeast-northwest. However, the size and depth of the earthquake make it uncertain whether the causative fault can be identified.