The 2000 Kipawa earthquake (or 2000 Kipawa "Millennium" earthquake ) struck
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
with a
moment magnitude
The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...
of 5.2 at 6:22 a.m. on January 1.
[Natural Resources Canada: The 01 January 2000 Kipawa Earthquake (mn=5.2)](_blank)
/ref> It occurred in 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 th ...
. The main shock epicenter
The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.
Surface damage
Before the instrumental pe ...
was located in Lake Kipawa
Lake Kipawa (in French: ''Lac Kipawa'') is a lake in far south-west Quebec, Canada, near the border with Ontario, north of Témiscaming, Quebec. Also see Kipawa River which is the only natural outflow of Kipawa Lake, Gordon Creek in Témiscaming ...
about north of Témiscaming
Témiscaming is a city located at the south end of Lac Témiscamingue on the upper Ottawa River in the Témiscamingue Regional County Municipality of western Quebec, Canada. Also nearby is Lake Kipawa.
It is the administrative headquarters o ...
in southwestern Quebec and northeast of North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...
. The shaking was strongest within of the epicenter. It was felt in Témiscaming, North Bay and as far away as Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, making it one of the most significant earthquakes in Canada in 2000. The earthquake was triggered by major thrust fault
A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks.
Thrust geometry and nomenclature
Reverse faults
A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less.
If ...
s associated with the Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben
The Ottawa-Bonnechere Graben (also known as the Ottawa Graben) is a geological structure that coincides with a wide topographic depression extending from near Montréal through Ottawa. It is part of the Saint Lawrence rift system that also inclu ...
.
Minor damage was reported during this earthquake, including fallen light objects, a damaged ventilation pipe and fractures in plaster
Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...
. Its epicenter was very close to that of the 1935 Timiskaming earthquake and lies in a group of 76 located earthquakes since 1935. Seventeen aftershock
In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...
s were recorded.
See also
* List of earthquakes in 2000
*List of earthquakes in Canada
This is a list of earthquakes in Canada.
List
Abbreviations used:
See also
*Hydraulic fracturing in Canada
References
External links
*Natural Resources CanadEarthquakes Canada*Earthquakes CanadRecent earthquakes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Earthquake ...
References
2000 disasters in Canada
January 2000 events in Canada
2000 Kipawa
2000 Kipawa
2000 earthquakes
{{Canada-earthquake-stub