Lamontagne, M. and Graham, D. 1993. Remote sensing looks at an intraplate earthquake surface rupture. Eos, 74, no. 32., p 353 and 357.
On 25 December 1989, a magnitude MS 6.3 earthquake located in the Ungava peninsula of Northern Quebec, Canada produced the first surface rupture in Eastern North America. An integrated analysis of remotely sensed data and total field aeromagnetic was done to improve our understanding of the earthquake's regional geological environment. Lineament information extracted from remotely sensed and magnetic data can provide additional geological constraints to seismic hazard assessment.
Whereas strong earthquakes tend to occur along preexisting rift faults in most intraplate environments, both the lack of an identified brittle fault and the long return period inferred from remote sensing make deterministic seismic hazard analysis difficult in this part of northern Canada. The Ungava earthquake occurred on a ductile structure that does not present any recognizable seismogenic characteristic. Thus, with the current state of knowledge, future active features may not be identifiable a priori.