The 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake struck northeastern

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on February 28, reaching 6.2 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, 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. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

. It was one of the most powerful measured in Canada in the 20th century, with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (''Severe'') on the

Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...

at its epicentre in the area of Charlevoix- Kamouraska along the Saint Lawrence River near île aux Lièvres and not greater than VI (''Strong'') in the United States. The quake was felt in

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, Shawinigan, and

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in Canada, and as far south in the U.S. as

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, and as far west as the

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Damage

It caused damage in three separate areas. The first had extreme damage constricted to a narrow belt long on both shores of the Saint Lawrence River near the epicentre. In this area, damage at the villages of Baie-Saint-Paul, Saint-Urbain, Les Éboulements, Pointe-au-Pic, La Malbaie, Tadoussac and the other nearby villages of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Saint-Pacôme, Rivière-Ouelle, Saint-Philippe, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Pascal on the south shore, was mostly related to the magnitude of the earthquake itself, and to some extent by the deep grainy soil on which many of the destroyed buildings were built. The two other damaged areas were

and in the Trois-Rivières – Shawinigan area, where the destruction was more extensive, not so much due to the strength of the earthquake, but rather to the uneven nature of the landscape.

Aftermath

A total of 55 aftershocks were recorded, which lasted for weeks, ranging from magnitude 5 to 2. Over the years, several studies were published on the 1925 Charlevoix–Kamouraska earthquake, some as recently as 1999. A foreshock occurred in the St. Lawrence valley the prior year on September 30. It was rated at 6.1 and was felt from Rockland, Ontario to

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References

;Bibliography *

External links

* 1925 earthquakes 1925 in Quebec 1925 Charlevoix-Kamouraska 1925 Charlevoix-Kamouraska February 1925 in Canada {{Canada-earthquake-stub

Damage

Aftermath

See also

References

External links