Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The New Madrid fault zone is six times larger than the San Andreas fault zone in California and it covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and…most Americans expect the next great earthquake in the United States to come on the west coast. Summary: This prophecy details a massive earthquake on the New Madrid fault line. Although some of these ideas have gained some acceptance among researchers, they have not been accepted by the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council, which advises the USGS. 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. Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri would be most severely impacted, and the cities of Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, would be severely damaged. This relative weakness is important, because it would allow the relatively small east-west compressive forces associated with the continuing continental drift of the North American plate to reactivate old faults around New Madrid, making the area unusually prone to earthquakes in spite of it being far from the nearest tectonic plate boundary. At 1 pm on Christmas Day 1699, at a site near the present-day location of Memphis, the party was startled by a short period of ground shaking. It crosses 5 state lines and cuts across the Mississippi River in 3 places and the Ohio River in 2 places. Thousands of milder aftershocks occurred daily for more than a year. Box 96 New Madrid, MO 63869 Phone: 573-748-2866 Fax: 573-748-5402 [27], In the November 5, 2009, issue of Nature, researchers from Northwestern University and the University of Missouri said that due to the lack of fault movement, the quakes along the faults may only be aftershocks of the 1811–1812 earthquakes. The New Madrid seismic zone is located in the northern part of what has been called the Mississippi embayment. The reason for the contradictory scene was this: New Madrid is the namesake of a seismic zone spanning several states in the lower Midwest and South that was the site of some of the largest earthquakes in recorded North American history. In this vision, she was shown a … Uncertainty is the maddening aspect of earthquakes. ", 10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<0515:ESITRD>2.3.CO;2, "Summary of 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Sequence", "Report of the Independent Expert Panel on New Madrid Seismic Zone Earthquake Hazards", "The Enigma of the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812", "Historic Earthquakes: Near Charleston, Mississippi County, Missouri", "Historic Quakes: Southern Illinois 1968 11 09 17:01:40.5 UTC", "USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, Earthquake Report: Kentucky", 10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0175:DDTISI>2.0.CO;2, "Sinking Mafic Body in a Reactivated Lower Crust: A Mechanism for Stress Concentration at the New Madrid Seismic Zone", "Descent of the ancient Farallon slab drives localized mantle flow below the New Madrid seismic zone", "Government warns of "catastrophic" U.S. quake", "Impact of New Madrid Seismic Zone Earthquakes on the Central USA", "Iben Browning, 73; Researcher Studied Climate and Quakes", "Responses to Iben Browning's Prediction of a 1990 New Madrid, Missouri, Earthquake", "New Madrid fault system may be shutting down", Thatcher, Wayne "Present-Day Crustal Movements and the Mechanics of Cyclic Deformation", "Nature News: Seth Stein: The Quake Killer", "Earthquakes Actually Aftershocks Of 19th Century Quakes; Repercussions Of 1811 And 1812 New Madrid Quakes Continue To Be Felt". While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Most of the seismicity originates between 3 and 15 miles (4.8 and 24.1 km) beneath the Earth's surface. In October 2009, a team composed of University of Illinois and Virginia Tech researchers headed by Amr S. Elnashai, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, considered a scenario where all three segments of the New Madrid fault ruptured simultaneously with a total earthquake magnitude of 7.7. Corrections? [15] In 2008 in the nearby Wabash Valley Seismic Zone, a similar magnitude 5.4 earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Illinois near West Salem and Mount Carmel. The zone had four of the largest North American earthquakes in recorded history, with moment magnitudes estimated to be as large as 7.0 or greater, all occurring within a 3-month period between December 1811 and February 1812. 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. 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. No damages but a seismic seiche propagating upriver, and Little Prairie heavily damaged by soil … The report found that there would be significant damage in the eight states studied – Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee – with the probability of additional damage in states farther from the NMSZ. (epicentre 36.6° N 89.6° W), each measuring greater than magnitude 7.0. [citation needed]. The future location of Memphis, Tennessee, experienced level IX shaking on the Mercalli intensity scale. New Madrid has had: (M1.5 or greater) 0 earthquakes in the past 24 hours 4 earthquakes in the past 7 days; 12 earthquakes in the past 30 days; 177 earthquakes in the past 365 days The New Madrid fault system was responsible for the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes, and has the potential to produce large earthquakes in the future. Wikipedia says it’s t he 150-mile (240 km) long seismic zone, which extends into five states. Michael Yuri Janitch, issued an earthquake warning for the New Madrid Seismic Zone earlier this week only to be right as a swarm of earthquakes was detected on Wednesday resolidifying fears of a bigger one. Instruments were installed in and around the area in 1974 to closely monitor seismic activity. The fault line runs roughly 150 miles from Arkansas into Missouri and Illinois. The New Madrid Fault extends approximately 120 miles southward from the area of Charleston, Missouri, and Cairo, Illinois, through Mew Madrid and Caruthersville, following Interstate 55 to Blytheville, then to Marked Tree Arkansas. Based on artifacts found buried by sand blow deposits and from carbon-14 studies, previous large earthquakes like those of 1811–1812 appear to have happened around AD 1450 and 900,[4] as well as around AD 300. Earthquake Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone Remains a Concern USGS (2009). We know they happen frequently along the earth’s tectonic plates. These dramatic accounts clearly show that destructive earthquakes do not happen only in the western United States. The largest NMSZ earthquake of the 20th century was a 5.4-magnitude quake (although it was reported as a 5.5 at the time) on November 9, 1968, near Dale, Illinois. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... …it is known as the New Madrid Fault. The New Madrid Seismic Zone is heating up Missouri-based YouTuber Dutchsinse, a.k.a. 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. a long-established weakness in the Earth’s crust in the central and eastern US where earthquakes have occurred for hundreds of millions of years. This photo illustration shows the area of effect predicted from the New Madrid Fault Zone. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}36°35′N 89°35′W / 36.58°N 89.59°W / 36.58; -89.59. [29], In July 2014, the USGS increased the risk assessment for the New Madrid area. First posted September 30, 2011. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). First, California has an extensive system of faults. These features were interpreted to have been caused by groups of large earthquakes timed closely together. So what is the New Madrid Fault Line? • December 16, 1811, 8:15 UTC (2:15 am local time): M 7.2–8.2, epicenter in what is now northeast Arkansas. [16], Since other ancient rifts are known to occur in North America, but not all are associated with modern earthquakes, other processes could be at work to locally increase mechanical stress on the New Madrid faults. Updates? Since then, more than 4,000 earthquakes have been recorded, most of which were too small to be felt. The Mississippi embayment is a broad trough filled with marine sedimentary rocks about 50-100 millions years old and river sediments less than 5 millions years old. Evidence has also been found for an apparent series of large earthquakes around 2350 BC. The USGS issued a fact sheet in 2009 stating the estimate of a 7–10% chance of a New Madrid earthquake of magnitude comparable to one of the 1811–1812 quakes within the next 50 years, and a 25–40% chance of a magnitude 6.0 earthquake in the same time frame. Faults result from cracks and breaks in rock formations. The New Madrid Fault Line Is The Most Dangerous in The United States If and when the New Madrid fault line gives way, it will amount to catastrophe unlike any we’ve seen. [21] The earthquake is expected to also result in many thousands of fatalities, with more than 4,000 of the fatalities expected in Memphis alone. Although many people think of California’s San Andreas fault, which birthed the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, as the most dangerous in North America, the quakes from 1811 to 1812 that erupted from the New Madrid Seismic Zone were the most destructive. USGS says the New Madrid Fault, which runs through a number of midwestern states, has been identified as an area that has potential for larger and … [22], Beginning in February 1989, self-proclaimed climatologist Iben Browning, who claimed to have predicted the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake – predicted a 50% probability of a magnitude 6.5 to 7.5 earthquake in the New Madrid area sometime between December 1 and December 5, 1990. [5] About 80 km southwest of the presently defined NMSZ, but close enough to be associated with the Reelfoot Rift, near Marianna, Arkansas, two sets of liquefaction features indicative of large earthquakes have been tentatively identified and dated to 3500 and 4800 BC. Research also indicates that other large earthquakes have occurred in the region surrounding the main New Madrid seismicity trends in the past 5,000 years or so. Since 1812, frequent smaller earthquakes have been recorded in the area. "The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812" presented by Ray Anderson. "[24] Despite the lack of scientific support, Browning's prediction was widely reported in international media, causing public alarm. The Shake It Out event is drawing large annual turnouts, including both Indiana and Missouri boasting each a half a million participants, according to Shake It Out’s graphs. (July 17, 2014), "Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis", "How old is the New Madrid Seismic Zone? By studying evidence of past quakes and closely monitoring ground motion and current earthquake activity, scientists attempt to understand their causes and recurrence intervals. People in Boston said their buildings swayed. [1], Earthquakes that occur in the New Madrid Seismic Zone potentially threaten parts of eight American states: Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.[2]. There is broad agreement in the scientific community that a continuing concern exists for It stretches southward from Cairo, IL; through Hayti, Caruthersille and New Madrid, MO; through Blytheville into Marked Tree in AR. A few days ago, a wonderful woman named Donna Hazlett sent me a vision that God gave to her last year. These were interpreted as clear signals of the 1811–1812 earthquake series in tree rings. 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. It also covers a part of West Tennessee, near Reelfoot Lake, extending southeast into Dyersburg. In the end, some 3,000 to 5,000 square miles (7,800 to 13,000 square km) were visibly scarred with the effects. [3] Archaeological studies have found from studies of sand blows and soil horizons that previous series of very large earthquakes have occurred in the NMSZ in recent prehistory. [26], On March 13, 2009, a research group based out of Northwestern University and Purdue University, funded by the USGS, reported in Science and other journals that the New Madrid system may be "shutting down" and that tectonic stress may now be accumulating elsewhere. Because uplift rates associated with large New Madrid earthquakes could not have occurred continuously over geological timescales without dramatically altering the local topography, studies have concluded that the seismic activity there cannot have gone on for longer than 64,000 years, making the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) a young feature, or that earthquakes and the associated uplift migrate around the area over time, or that the NMSZ has short periods of activity interspersed with long periods of quiescence. The New Madrid fault zone is six times larger than the San Andreas fault zone in California and it covers portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. In 2009, two studies based on eight years of GPS measurements indicated that the faults were moving at no more than 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) a year. A seismic seiche propagated upriver, and Little Prairie (a village that was on the site of the former Fort San Fernando, near the site of present-day Caruthersville, Missouri The colors are keyed to the peak intensity of ground velocity at the surface. The New Madrid Seismic Zone , sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri. Some of the details involved in this prophecy include an unzipping of the fault so powerful that it'll split the river tens of miles wide open, destroying all bridges across it and preventing people, commerce, etc from passing east to west across it ever again. In a report filed in November 2008, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that a serious earthquake in the NMSZ could result in "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States," further predicting "widespread and catastrophic" damage across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and particularly Tennessee, where a 7.7 magnitude quake would cause damage to tens of thousands of structures affecting water distribution, transportation systems, and other vital infrastructure. But what if it strikes right down the middle of the country instead? This page was last edited on 12 March 2021, at 00:02. The New Madrid Seismic Zone, sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the southern and midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri. (1995). (See New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12.). [6], Dendrochronology (tree ring) studies conducted on the oldest bald cypress trees growing in Reelfoot Lake found evidence of the 1811–1812 series in the form of fractures followed by rapid growth after their inundation, whereas cores taken from old bald cypress trees in the St. Francis sunklands showed slowed growth in the half century that followed 1812. This sequence of three very large earthquakes is usually referred to as the New Madrid earthquakes, after the Missouri town that was the largest settlement on the Mississippi River between St. Louis, Missouri and Natchez, Mississippi. The New Madrid Fault, also called the New Madrid seismic zone, is actually a series of faults, or fractures, at a weak spot in the earth’s crust called the Reelfoot Rift. The reason is twofold. The largest earthquakes to have occurred since then were on January 4, 1843, and October 31, 1895, with magnitude estimates of 6.0 and 6.6, respectively. interpreted the lack of similar signals elsewhere in the chronology as evidence against large New Madrid earthquakes between those years and 1811. The period passed with no major earthquake activity in New Madrid or along the 120-mile (190 km) fault line. Aftershocks strong enough to be felt occurred until 1817. Many of the published accounts describe the cumulative effects of all the earthquakes (known as the New Madrid Sequence), so finding the individual effects of each quake can be difficult. It caused only slight damage to man-made structures, mainly because of the sparse population in the epicentral area. The resulting rift system failed to split the continent, but has remained as an aulacogen (a scar or zone of weakness) deep underground, and its ancient faults appear to have made the Earth's crust in the New Madrid area mechanically weaker than much of the rest of North America. St. Louis' newest high-rise was built to sway instead of fall if an earthquake hits. The New Madrid Seismic Zone (/ˈmædrɪd/), sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri. The New Madrid fault is expected to generate a large-scale earthquake within the next 50 years. [25] This contrasts to the rate of slip on the San Andreas Fault, which averages up to 37 mm (1.5 in) a year across California. Because the tree ring record in Reelfoot Lake and the St. Francis sunk lands extend back to 1682 and 1321, respectively, Van Arsdale et al. The first shock was felt from Canada to New Orleans and as far away as Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. The number Recorded on September 15, 2011 as part of the UI Explorers Lecture Series. Most notably, the rift was the site of the tremendous New Madrid earthquakes, a series of earthquakes and aftershocks that began in December 1811 and continued for at least a year. New Madrid inspired everything from Native American legends to country-rock songs, and it came howling back into our lives when a failed doomsday prophet named Iben Browning said there was a 50-50 chance of a gargantuan quake hitting the region on or around Dec. 3, 1990. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Madrid-Seismic-Zone, Missouri Department of Natural Resources - Facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Because of the limited quantity of major cities and population centers along the New Madrid fault at this time, the majority of the damage is seen in … It lies deep in the earth and cannot be seen from the surface. At the time of the quake, it was the biggest recorded quake with an epicenter in Illinois in that state's recorded history. Direct economic losses, according to the report, would be at least $300 billion. The quake damaged the civic building at Henderson, Kentucky, and was felt in 23 states. The New Madrid fault zone, six times larger than the San Andreas in California, has generated a series of massive earthquakes thrusting the Atwood and Chandler families in a fight to survive. Today, a rupture of the New Madrid fault on the magnitude of the 1811-12 earthquakes could leave large parts of St. Louis and Memphis, Tennessee, uninhabitable. They can’t be predicted, even very big ones. At the time, the three main earthquakes were the most powerful…. The 150-mile (240 km)-long seismic zone, which extends into five states, stretches southward from Cairo, Illinois; through Hayti, Caruthersville, and New Madrid in Missouri; through Blytheville into Marked Tree in Arkansas. The NMSZ lies within the central Mississippi Valley, extending from northeast Arkansas, through southeast Missouri, western Tennessee, and western Kentucky to … The report estimated 86,000 casualties, including 3,500 fatalities, 715,000 damaged buildings, and 7.2 million people displaced, with two million of those seeking shelter, primarily due to the lack of utility services. Stephenson, W.J., K.M. It is part of the North American tectonic plate and the major fault among four, located in this region. The earthquake near New Salem, Illinois–on an extension of the New Madrid fault–is a reminder that, for all of the publicity that earthquakes in California get, the fault system that caused this quake is the most dangerous in the continental United States.. "Documentation for the 2014 Update of the United States National Seismic Hazard Maps", Earthquake Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone Remains a Concern, "Uncovering Hidden Hazards in the Mississippi Valley", U. Memphis, TN, Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) comprehensive references for the 1811–1812 earthquakes, Space geodetic evidence for rapid strain rates in the New Madrid seismic zone of Central USA (PDF), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone&oldid=1011633124, Geographic areas of seismological interest, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. [30], Major seismic zone in the southern and midwestern United States, Reelfoot Rift and the New Madrid Seismic Zone in a 3D topographic image, Magnetic potential map of the Reelfoot Rift, Petersen, Mark D.; Moschetti, Morgan P.'; Powers, Peter M.' et al. It is southwest of the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone. [7], The first known written record of an earthquake felt in the NMSZ was from a French missionary traveling up the Mississippi with a party of explorers. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Woman sees New Madrid Fault Blow in stunning vision leaving country split in half. [8], Hundreds of aftershocks of the 1811–1812 series followed over a period of several years. City of New Madrid 560 Mott Street P.O. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. “A new earthquake swarm has broken out down… One concern is that the small earthquakes that still happen are not diminishing over time, as would be if they were aftershocks of the 1811–1812 events; another is that the 4,500-year archaeological record of large earthquakes in the region is more significant than 10 years of direct strain measurement. [25] Seth Stein, the leader of the research group, published these views in a book, Disaster Deferred, in 2008. The 1895 event had its epicenter near Charleston, Missouri. 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. Shedlock, and J.K. Odum. [28], According to the USGS, a broad consensus exists that the possibility of major earthquakes in the NMSZ remains a concern, and that the GPS data do not provide a compelling case for lessening perceived earthquake hazards in 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. The potential for the recurrence of large earthquakes and their effects today on densely populated cities in and around the seismic zone has generated much research devoted to understanding in the NMSZ. It is yet to be confirmed if these faults intersect or are unique to each other. The 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence was preceded by at least two other similar sequences in about A.D. 1450 and A.D. 900. The New Madrid fault system was responsible for the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes, an intense intraplate earthquake series that began with an initial earthquake of moment magnitude 7.5–7.9 on December 16, 1811, and was followed by a moment magnitude 7.4 aftershock on the same day. The area of major Omissions? The faults responsible for the NMSZ are embedded in a subsurface geological feature known as the Reelfoot Rift that formed during the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic era (about 750 million years ago)[citation needed]. [24] The United States Geological Survey (USGS) requested an evaluation of the prediction by an advisory board of earth scientists, who concluded, "the prediction does not have scientific validity. [23][24] Browning appears to have based this prediction on particularly strong tidal forces being expected during that time, and his opinion that a New Madrid earthquake was "overdue;" however, seismologists generally agree that no correlation exists between tides and earthquakes. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A sign showing the New Madrid fault line. The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) is a 150-mile long fault zone spanning four states in the Midwestern United States (see Figure 1). Magnitude estimates and epicenters are based on interpretations of historical accounts and may vary. On average, one earthquake per year is large enough to be felt in the area. There were thousands of aftershocks, of which 1,874 were large enough to be felt in Louisville, Kentucky, about 190 miles (300 km) away. [24], The lack of apparent land movement along the New Madrid fault system has long puzzled scientists. [17][18] Also, some form of heating in the lithosphere below the area has been suggested to be making deep rocks more plastic, which would concentrate compressive stress in the shallower subsurface area where the faulting occurs.[19][20]. While not as well known for earthquakes as California or Alaska, the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), located in southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Illinois, is The quake damaged virtually all the buildings in Charleston, created sand volcanoes by the city, cracked a pier on the Cairo Rail Bridge, and toppled chimneys in St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; and Evansville, Indiana.[14]. ( OPINION) Michael Snyder – So many people have been shown the great earthquake that is eventually going to rip North America in half along the New Madrid fault. The solid straight line in the middle of the New Madrid seismic zone is the surface projection of the modeled fault, which ruptures in the simulation. 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. The New Madrid Fault is located beneath the Mississippi River Valley in the Midwest United States. 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. New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12, series of three large earthquakes that occurred near New Madrid, Missouri, between December 1811 and February 1812. In the past 25 years, scientists have learned that strong earthquakes in the central Mississippi Valley are not freak events but have occurred repeatedly in the geologic past. 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