Macroseismic and landslide information on the 1663 moment magnitude (M) 7 earthquake, Charlevoix, Quebec / M. Lamontagne and J. Locat.: M183-2/8772E-PDF

"The February 5, 1663, magnitude 7 Charlevoix earthquake occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time (February 5, 1663, 22:30 U.T.). This earthquake is one of five known moment magnitude 5.5-7 events that occurred in the Charlevoix Seismic Zone (CSZ) between 1663 and the present. Due to the sparse population at the time, the exact position of the epicenter and the magnitude are still debated. The Charlevoix Seismic Zone is generally assumed as the epicentral region based on its historical earthquakes and its sustained lower magnitude earthquake activity. Given that this earthquake occurred in the mid 1600's and far from the few existing towns, felt accounts are limited in number. Available historical documents reveal that it was felt by the then 2500 inhabitants of New France mostly concentrated in three towns (Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Montréal), and by other inhabitants of New England and New Holland. The macroseismic information is augmented by landslides (subaqueous and terrestrial) and sedimentation events which likely were triggered by the 1663 earthquake. Most of these mass movements are dated using either C14 or sedimentation rate methods. These mass movements are used as proxies to estimate both the magnitude of the earthquake and its epicentre. This Open File Report presents the macroseismic information and its ratings on the Modified Mercalli Scale for a total of eight locations for Canada. For each locality, the felt information is rated on the Modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale and tabulated in a Microsoft Excel sheet. The text of some of the newspaper accounts are reproduced. The Open File also provides a GoogleEarth kmz file that allows the felt information reports to be viewed in a geographic visualization tool"--Abstract, pages 1-2.

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