WHITEHORSE, Yukon (Reuters) - A meteor exploded over the mountains of southern Yukon on Tuesday, shaking houses and providing residents of the remote region with a dramatic light show, the Geologic Survey of Canada said.

The meteor is believed to have exploded in the atmosphere midday between Carcross, Yukon and Skagway, Alaska, at about 9 a.m. according to the agency, which received witness reports and sonic data on the event.

"They described it as sheet lightning-like and they turned around and saw this large green object going through the sky," said Garry Rogers of the Pacific Geoscience Center in Sidney, British Columbia.

Witnesses in Carcross said the explosion rattled windows and shook snow from roofs in the small village about 120 miles (190 km) north of Juneau, Alaska, according to Rogers.

The explosion was detected by at least three of the agency's seismic monitoring stations in the region, but the sonic waves indicated the meteor exploded in the air rather than in an impact with the ground, the geologists said.