March 6, 2005 Riviere-du-Loup Earthquake
Widely Felt Across Maine

The Geological Survey of Canada reports that an earthquake occurred at 1:17:49 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Sunday, March 6, 2005 near Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, on the St. Lawrence River about 95 miles northeast of Quebec City. It was felt widely across Maine and as far south as Boston. No damage was reported.

The following parameters have been calculated for the earthquake:

Magnitude	5.4 (Nuttli, 1973)
Location	47.75 degrees North latitude, 69.73 West longitude
Depth	13 kilometers
This places the epicenter about 63 miles north-northwest of Fort Kent, Maine.

Felt Reports

Many people across the northeast region submitted felt reports to the U. S. Geological Survey in Pasadena or to the Maine Geological Survey through their on-line web sites. Shaking in northern Maine was at intensities III to IV (weak to light), and reports from southern Maine were mostly at intensity II, according to the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. The USGS data are automatically posted by zip code on an intensity map. The MGS reports are reviewed by a geologist and assigned MMI values. The results are listed by town.

News Reports

The Associated Press produced a brief news release that was picked up by several newspapers in the northeastern U.S. It reported people feeling the earthquake in Boston, Montreal, and Ottawa.

Bangor Daily News, Monday, March 7, 2005, "Quebec quake felt in northern Maine".

Portland Press Herald, Monday, March 7, 2005, "Early morning earthquake felt in northern Maine".

Seismograms

The Canadian Seismic Network's Hourly Seismogram plot for March 6, 2005, 6:00 to 7:00 (UT) shows the earthquake was felt strongly at all seismic stations across the region. The Geological Survey of Canada reports that more than a dozen small aftershocks (magnitude 0.9 to 2.1) were recorded over the next 9 hours.

Reference

Nuttli, Otto W., 1973: "The Mississippi Valley Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812; Intensities, Ground Motion, and Magnitudes," Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 63, No.1, p. 227-248.

---

Last updated on April 27, 2012

Maine.gov | Department Home | Bureau Home | Site Policies