Queen Charlotte Fault

The Queen Charlotte Fault is an active transform fault on the boundary between the North American plate and Pacific plates. It is Canada's right-lateral strike-slip equivalent to the San Andreas Fault to the south in California. The Queen Charlotte Fault forms a triple junction at its southern with the Cascadia subduction zone and the Explorer Ridge (the Queen Charlotte triple junction). The Queen Charlotte Fault (QCF) forms a transpressional plate boundary, and is as active as other major transform fault systems (such as San Andreas or Alpine) in terms of slip rates and seismogenic potential. It sustains the highest-known deformation rates among continental or continent-ocean transform systems globally, accommodating more than 50 mm/yr of dextral offset. The entire 900-kilometre (560 mi) offshore length has ruptured in seven magnitude 7+ events during the last century, making the cumulative historical seismic moment release higher than any other modern transform plate boundary system.

The fault is named for the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii), which lie just north of the triple junction. The Queen Charlotte Fault continues northward along the Alaskan coast, where it is called the Fairweather Fault. The two segments are collectively called the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault System.

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