New Madrid Seismic Zone

New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12

New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), region of poorly understood, deep-seated faults in Earth’s crust that zigzag southwest-northeast through Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, U.S. Lying in the central area of the North American Plate, the seismic zone is about 45 miles (70 km) wide and about 125 miles (200 km) long. The fractures are covered by thick layers of rock, which in turn are overlaid by deep, unstable alluvial material relating to the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio rivers.

Some Earth scientists suggest that fracturing in this region resulted from stresses brought on by the downcutting of the Mississippi River into the surrounding landscape between 10,000 and 16,000 years ago. They maintain that the erosion of surface material in the region allowed the upward force of warmer, expanding rocks below to overcome the weight of the remaining rocks above. Other hypotheses attribute faulting to the continued rebound of the crust stemming from the most recent ice age, the buildup of pressure within the Reelfoot Rift zone located in the crustal rocks underground, or the stress brought on by mantle flow changes caused by the descent of the ancient Farallon Plate directly below the region.

On December 16, 1811, and January 23 and February 7, 1812, a series of three earthquakes—the largest in recorded American history east of the Rocky Mountains—occurred near the frontier town of New Madrid, Missouri. (epicentre 36.6° N 89.6° W), each measuring greater than magnitude 7.0. Thousands of milder aftershocks occurred daily for more than a year. The first shock was felt from Canada to New Orleans and as far away as Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. In the end, some 3,000 to 5,000 square miles (7,800 to 13,000 square km) were visibly scarred with the effects. Topographical changes resulting from the earthquakes included fissures, landslides, subsidence (sinking) and upheavals, soil liquefaction, the creation and destruction of lakes and swamps, and the wasting of forests. (See New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12.)