A rare moderate earthquake struck the Northwest Territories region of Canada late on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey has confirmed.

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© Google mapsEpicentre of Sunday night's earthquake.
The 5.3 magnitude earthquake, the strongest recorded in the province this year, struck at 7:02:57 PM local time (2:02:57 AM GMT Monday). The epicentre was located 137 km (85 miles) W of Wrigley, 205 km (127 miles) S of Norman Wells, and 617 km (383 miles) WNW of the provincial capital Yellowknife.

While seismic activity is not uncommon in the Northwest Territories, earthquakes exceeding 5 magnitude on the Richter Scale are rare.

Only two other earthquakes have exceeded exceed magnitude 4 during 2011. A 4.1 magnitude tremor struck 141 kilometres south of Fort McPherson on June 09, while a 4.3 magnitude tremor hit 101 kilometres southwest of Wrigley on July 30.