Queen Charlotte Fault facts for kids
The Queen Charlotte Fault is a very active fault line found off the coast of Canada. Think of it like a giant crack in the Earth's crust! This fault marks where two huge pieces of the Earth's surface, called tectonic plates, slide past each other. These plates are the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.
This fault is similar to the famous San Andreas Fault in California, which also has plates sliding sideways. The Queen Charlotte Fault gets its name from the Haida Gwaii islands (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) that are nearby. As it goes north along the coast of Alaska, it changes its name to the Fairweather Fault. Together, they are known as the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault System.
Because these plates are always moving, the Queen Charlotte Fault is a place where many earthquakes happen. Some of these quakes have been very powerful! Studying this fault helps scientists learn more about how earthquakes work around the world.
Contents
Big Earthquakes Along the Fault
| Year | Size (M) | What Happened | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | ~7 | ||
| 1949 | 8.1 | Landslides, damaged homes | 1949 Queen Charlotte Islands earthquake |
| 1958 | 7.8 | Landslide, huge tsunami | 1958 Lituya Bay, Alaska earthquake and megatsunami |
| 1970 | 7.4 | Landslides | |
| 1990 | 5.3 | Small damage | |
| 2001 | 6.3 | Small damage | |
| 2004 | 6.8 | Land slipped | |
| 2008 | 6.5 | Small damage | |
| 2009 | 6.6 | Small damage | |
| 2012 | 7.8 | Hot Spring Island changed | 2012 Haida Gwaii earthquake |
| 2013 | 7.6 | Very fast earthquake | 2013 Craig, Alaska earthquake |
| 2014 | 6.0 | Broke undersea cable | 2014 Palma Bay earthquake |
Over the last 100 years, five very large earthquakes have shaken the Queen Charlotte Fault. One was a magnitude 7 quake in 1929. Then, in 1949, a massive magnitude 8.1 earthquake hit. This was the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Canada since the year 1700! Other big ones happened in 1958 (magnitude 7.8), 1970 (magnitude 7.4), and 2012 (magnitude 7.8).
The 1949 Earthquake
The 1949 earthquake was even bigger than the famous 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It caused a huge section of the Queen Charlotte Fault, almost 500 kilometers long, to break. This quake showed that the plates were mostly sliding past each other sideways.
The 1958 Earthquake and Giant Tsunami
The 1958 earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8. It caused a huge landslide in Lituya Bay, Alaska. This landslide created an enormous tsunami, which is a giant ocean wave. This wave was an incredible 1,720 feet tall when it crashed into a mountainside! It's the tallest tsunami ever recorded.
The 2012 Haida Gwaii Earthquake
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Haida Gwaii on October 27, 2012. This was the biggest quake in Canadian territory since the 1949 event. Aftershocks, which are smaller quakes that happen after a big one, were as large as magnitude 6.3. A small tsunami, about 45 centimeters high, was reported nearby. Warnings were sent across the entire Pacific Ocean.
This earthquake didn't cause much major damage. However, it did temporarily stop the hot springs on Hotspring Island from flowing. By July 2014, the hot springs seemed to be working almost normally again. This quake was interesting because it was a "thrust" earthquake, meaning one plate pushed over the other. This is different from the usual "strike-slip" movement where plates slide sideways. It was more like what happens at the Cascadia subduction zone to the south.
Scientists have used special maps of the seafloor to see the Queen Charlotte Fault. They can see how it cuts across underwater valleys along the edge of the continent.
