5.5 5.0 Earthquake in Ontario Canada Near Montreal Quebec

Published by mygoditsfullofstars
June 23, 2010, Category: Earth Sciences

This quake is in a strange location and was felt many miles away…

I monitor earthquakes and today one came through that made me do a double take! A 5.5 (recently downgraded to a 5.0) shook just outside of Cumberland, Ontario in Canada. This is actually very near the Ontario and Quebec border, close to the city of Montreal. It registered at 18 kilometers (or 11.2 miles) depth. Reports immediately started coming out that people all over the region felt the quake. This is common for a quake that is so shallow. The shallow quakes can actually feel worse than higher magnitude quakes at lower depths.

The VERY interesting thing about this quake is the location. I don’t live anywhere near there, but this NOT an earthquake prone area. So, in that respect, a 5.5 is a pretty big deal. Especially for the locals who would have been caught totally off guard.

For all the details about this quake, check out this link to USGS (United States Geological Survey):

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010xwa7.php