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| Goal of the report | This report descibes the earthquakes recorded by the seismograph stations of the Lower-Saint-Lawrence/North-Coast, (MNQ, ICQ, CNQ, SMQ) et de Grosses-Roches (GSQ) between January 1st and December 31, 1999. |
| Performance of the local network |
The Lower-Saint-Lawrence/North-Coast region
monitored by a local networkof 5 seismic stations: MNQ (Manicouagan), CNQ(Côte-Nord),
ICQ (Islets-Caribou) et SMQ (Sainte-Marguerite).
The local network is integrated into the Canadian National Seismographic Network. The uptime for these stations was very acceptable in 2000, ranking over 90%. Data from this station is continuously archived on optical disk Taking into account the distribution of stations in the Canadian network, any event with magnitude 2.0 or higher would be located. |
| Recorded earthquakes |
About 159 earthquake were recorded as shown in the map and described in the list.
Besides some isolated and low magnitude events, the large majority of them occurred inside the recognized seismic zone of the Low-Saint-Laurent. The 22nd of january 1999, an earthquake reached a magnitude 3.5 but was only weakly felt, being too weak and too far from the coast. The 16th of march 1999, an earthquake exceeded magnitude 5.1. The earthquake is the strongest ever recorded in this seismic zone. It was followed by numerous aftershocks (75) in the days following the main shock. |
| Felt earthquakes | According to the reports of citizens and journalists, two of these earthquakes were felt locally. |
| Blasts | Many explosions related to work of the Sainte-Marguerite project (SM-C3) were detected. Their nature was confirmed by Hydro-Quebec with Bay-Comeau or their characteristic signatures. These explosions do not appear on the map and list above. |
| Induced earthquakes | No earthquake induced by the water level variations was recorded during the time period. |
Retour: Earthquakes in Quebec and surrounding areas in 1999
Author: Maurice Lamontagne, ing.
File: GS-2140-4
