2013 M7.5 Craig Earthquake

The USGS and CMT moment tensor solutions for the M7.5 Craig Earthquake agree with a right-lateral strike-slip earthquake on the northwest-striking Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault.

Seismicity along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather system is driven by the northward motion of the Pacific plate as it grinds past the North American plate before subducting beneath southern Alaska. The M7.5 event is characteristic of events expected in this region. The largest recorded earthquake that had previously ruptured this section of the fault was a M8.1 on August 22, 1949.