The Charlevoix Seismic Zone is a seismically active area in the Charlevoix

Charlevoix

The Charlevoix region, located in Quebec, includes parts of the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River and the Laurentian Mountains region of the Canadian Shield...

 region of northeastern Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is also known as the Charlevoix-Kamouraska Seismic Zone because earthquakes occur in Kamouraska Country where the land expression of the seismic zone is separated by the Saint Lawrence River

Saint Lawrence River

The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

. Much seismic activity takes place under the river.

With over 200 small earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

s occurring each year, the Charlevoix Seismic Zone is one of the most active seismic zones in Canada. Since 1663, five damaging earthquakes have occurred in the area, including a magnitude 7.0 event in 1663

1663 Charlevoix earthquake

The 1663 Charlevoix earthquake was a major earthquake, with a magnitude between 7.3 and 7.9, that struck the entire eastern part of North America at 5:30 p.m. on February 5, 1663...

, a magnitude 7.0 event in 1791, a magnitude 6.0 event in 1860, a magnitude 6.5 event in 1870 and a magnitude 6.2 event in 1925. Because of these concerns, the Charlevoix Seismic Zone is considered to be a highly hazardous earthquake zone and it is comparable to those in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 where earthquakes are due to movement of the Earth's tectonic plates

Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...

. In contrast, the Charlevoix Seismic Zone lies in the interior of the North American Plate

North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia, Japan and Iceland. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia. The plate includes both continental and oceanic crust...

and its origin is not well known.