A helicopter full of researchers with the Yukon Geological Survey is scouring a remote mountain region in southwest Yukon, looking for avalanches and landslides – evidence of a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rattled the area last month. The quake, which struck near the Alaska-Yukon border on Dec. 6, has helped geologists confirm a decades-old hypothesis: it’s revealed a fault hidden beneath the earth's surface. '”Researchers with the Yukon Geological Survey carried out a field reconnaissance effort from the skies to better understand the impacts of December's earthquake. “It had been hypothesized since the 1960s, but we haven’t been able to directly observe it,” said Jan Dettmer, geoscience research manager with the Yukon Geological Survey. In December, researchers with the Yukon Geological Survey carried out field reconnaissance to try and look for the fault itself, and trace where and how it shook the earth.

Source: CBC News January 13, 2026 15:40 UTC