‘Sleeping giant’ fault beneath Canada could unleash a major earthquake, research suggests

By Stephanie Pappas – LiveScience

A major fault in the Yukon, Canada, that has been quiet for at least 12,000 years may be capable of giving off earthquakes of at least magnitude 7.5, new research suggests.

Based on the amount of strain the Tintina fault has accumulated over the past 2.6 million years, it is now under an amount of stress that could lead to a large quake within a human lifespan, researchers reported July 15 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The finding may require experts to rethink the earthquake danger in the region, the study authors said.