[1] The northern part of Quebec lies mainly on the Minto block of the Superior craton.

The earthquake occurred within the Utsalik domain, which consists mainly of Archean granitic and granodioritic rocks.

[4] The mainshock was preceded by a series of foreshocks, starting with a M 5.1 event about ten hours earlier.

[5] The surface offsets show consistent thrust faulting over a distance of 8.5 km, with a maximum displacement of 1.8 m near the centre of the zone.

It has been suggested that this compression is a result of the area being in a 'saddle zone' between two centres of post-glacial uplift.