1933 Baffin Bay earthquake
1933 Baffin Bay earthquake is located in Canada
1933 Baffin Bay earthquake
UTC time1933-11-20 23:21:35
ISC event905919
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateNovember 20, 1933 (1933-11-20)
Local time18:21:35 Eastern Time Zone
Magnitude7.4 Mw [1]
Depth10 km (6 mi) [1]
Epicenter73°04′N 70°01′W / 73.07°N 70.01°W / 73.07; -70.01 [1]
Areas affectedCanada, Greenland

The 1933 Baffin Bay earthquake struck Greenland and the Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada with a moment magnitude of 7.4 [1] at 18:21:35 Eastern Time Zone on November 20.

The main shock epicenter was located in Baffin Bay on the east coast of Baffin Island. Shaking was only felt at the small town of Upernavik, Greenland. The event is the largest recorded earthquake to strike the passive margin of North America and is the largest north of the Arctic Circle. No damage was reported because of its offshore location and the small population of the nearby onshore communities.[2]

Tectonic setting

Canada is not typically associated with seismic activity, however, Canada does experience infrequent large earthquakes. At the location of the earthquake, there is an extinct spreading center which formed the Baffin Bay itself. This passive margin is seismic, and occasionally reactivates to slip in a strike slip manner.[1]

Regional seismicity

The region around northwestern Baffin Bay and northeastern Baffin Island continues to be seismically active.[3] Six magnitude 6 earthquakes have occurred there since 1933. Multiple small earthquakes with magnitudes ~4-5.5 still occur each year.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bent, Allison (3 September 2002). "The 1933 Ms= 7.3 Baffin Bay earthquake: strike-slip faulting along the northeastern Canadian passive margin". Geophysical Journal International. 150 (3): 724–736. Bibcode:2002GeoJI.150..724B. doi:10.1046/j.1365-246X.2002.01722.x.
  2. ↑ NRC (2013), The 1933 Baffin Bay earthquake, Natural Resources Canada
  3. ↑ "The 1933 Baffin Bay earthquake". Earthquakes Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 29 April 2018.

Sources


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