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western quebec and southern ontario - Department of Geology

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CHAPTER 2GEOLOGICAL SETTINGS AND SEISMICITY OF THE STUDYAREA2.1 IntroductionPlate tectonics can explain most <strong>of</strong> the distribution <strong>of</strong> earthquakes around the world.Although earthquakes occur primarily along plate boundaries or in broad regions alongthe plate boundaries, numerous earthquakes also occur within the plates, causing loss <strong>of</strong>life <strong>and</strong> damage to properties (Adams <strong>and</strong> Basham, 1989). Unlike seismicity along theplate boundaries, the seismicity inside the plates has received very little attention. Theearthquakes are not evenly distributed inside the plates. For example Sykes (1978)recognised that most events in northeastern America occur within the crust in areas thatwere affected by the last major orogenesis prior to the opening <strong>of</strong> Atlantic Ocean. Thepresent seismicity could be the result <strong>of</strong> reactivation <strong>of</strong> existing fault zones, failed rifts,<strong>and</strong> other tectonic boundaries such as the late Proterozoic to Paleozoic rift systems alongthe St. Lawrence <strong>and</strong> Ottawa Rivers (Thomas, 2006).Eastern Canada is located within the North American Plate <strong>and</strong>, therefore, has arelatively low rate <strong>of</strong> earthquake activity. However, large earthquakes do occur in theregion, <strong>and</strong> may pose significant societal risk. Approximately 450 earthquakes occur in5

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