The backwoods claimant of spiritual knowledge feared that these ominous occurrences might portend the approach of the end times. During the winter of 1811 to 1812, the sparsely populated New Madrid, Mo., area was jolted by a series of three powerful earthquakes now estimated to have been of magnitude 7.5 to 8.3. Abstract Continental North America's greatest earthquake sequence struck on the western frontier of the United States. The three principal New Madrid mainshocks of 1811-1812 were followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included numerous felt events. The magnitude of the December 16, 1811, event ranged from 6.7 to 8.1, whereas the ranges for the earthquakes of January 23 and February 7, 1812, were 6.8–7.8 and 7.0–8.8, respectively. He rushed on deck, where he and his anxious fellow passengers sought to determine the source of their peril. The New Madrid region continues to have the highest level of seismicity activity in the United States east of the Rockies. Since the area was sparsely populated there are few eye-witness accounts. On the Mississippi River itself, the shaking calved the soil along riverbanks and caused trees lining the river to fall into the water. The December 1811 earthquakes were merely a prelude to what lay ahead. A slightly different version of this essay, “Turbulence and Terror: The New Madrid Earthquakes, 1811–1812,” appeared in the November 2017 issue of We Proceeded On, published by the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Despite the strength of the tremors, only minor damage to human-made structures was reported: from collapsing chimneys, falling trees, and cracking timbers in houses. Explains differences, and Mercalli intensity scale. Lorenzo Dow in 1816, describing the earthquake as eye-witness. The main shock occurred at 9:15 am, and its magnitude was estimated at 7.5. Residents throughout the Ohio valley and people in places as distant as New York City and Charleston, South Carolina, experienced the tremors in varying degrees. Large waves formed on the water that capsized numerous boats and thrust others onto the land. River water disturbed by uplift and subsidence also washed out forested areas upstream. Since the rocks in the eastern United States have few active faults to interrupt the propagation of seismic waves, ground vibrations from earthquakes generated in the region may travel thousands of miles. This shock followed the first earthquake by six hours and was similar in intensity; 23 January 1812 (7.3-7.6), epicenter in the Missouri bootheel; 7 February 1812 (7.5-8.0), epicenter near New Madrid When the nearly one hundred refugees reached New Madrid on Christmas Eve, they were dismayed to find its inhabitants camping in tents in open fields. Contemporary estimates that placed the death toll at a mere handful attributed the scant loss of life to a sparse population, but more recent scholars believe that those numbers grossly underestimated the full death toll by failing to take into account numerous unreported casualties and deaths on the river and in the region’s populous Indian communities. This would make a total of seven earthquakes of magnitude M6.0-7.5 occurring in the period December 16, 1811 through February 7, 1812. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 92(8), 3259-3268. The first earthquake of this series on December 16, 1811, was located in northeast Arkansas. On land the impact of the earthquakes was no less horrific. This region had 4 major 8.0+ magnitude earthquakes from December 1811-February 1812, during the Dalton Minimum (which included the “Year Without a Summer” of 1816), as well as during other periods of intense seismic activity during solar grand minima. James Madison is said to have felt the seismic waves arriving in Washington, D.C. Every where Nature itself seemed tottering on the verge of dissolution.”. On December 16, 1811, the 400 residents of New Madrid, Missouri, were shaken out of their beds at two in the morning by a violent earthquake. American evangelicals employed earthquakes as signs of God’s wrath for sinful behavior and a catalyst for Christian conversion and repentance. Initially, they suspected that hostile Indians had caused the mischief by unleashing their tethered vessel from its moorings, but a succession of shocks soon alerted them to the true source of the mayhem. Eyewitness accounts noted that the shaking rang church bells as far away as Boston, Massachusetts, and brought down chimneys in Cincinnati, Ohio, about 360 miles (580 km) away. New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12, series of three large earthquakes that occurred near New Madrid, Missouri, between December 1811 and February 1812. When the quakes finally ended, the most adversely affected areas were in shambles: buildings collapsed, great fissures appeared in the earth’s surface, some land sank and other land uplifted, sand blows deposited subsurface sediment over large areas, rivers and streams altered their courses, the Mississippi briefly reversed its flow, large new lakes were formed, and entire forests were toppled. Landslide trench and ridge in the Chickasaw Bluffs east of Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, that resulted from the New Madrid earthquakes (1811–12). New Madrid resident Eliza Bryan vividly recalled the awful noises of the first shocks replete with the distant reverberations of hoarse and vibrating thunder, the cracking sounds of falling trees, and the river’s thunderous roar, all punctuated by the smell of sulfur. Nuttli, O. W. (1973). 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. Boatman on the river reported the riverbed rose up to 15 feet causing the Mississippi to flow backwards and create two temporary waterfalls. John P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment. Ground motions from the three principal events were felt in places as far away as Canada, New England, and the coast of South Carolina. The location of this event is not well constrained, but the available accounts suggest an epicenter beyond the southern end of the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Eyewitnesses reported that shaking from this temblor was severe, especially in New Bourbon, Missouri, but not as strong as the main shock. Shortly after the earthquake began, ground shaking was felt as far away as Canada in the north and the Gulf Coast in the south. 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. Research indicates that the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence was preceded by at least two similar earthquake sequences in about 1450 AD and 900 AD, and that over the past 5,000 years or so, other large earthquakes have also occurred in the region surrounding the main area of the currently active New Madrid seismic zone. Since 1812, frequent smaller earthquakes have been recorded in the area. Copyright © 2020 State Historical Society of Missouri. William Leigh Pierce, a literate twenty-one-year-old traveler, was en route to New Orleans on a flatboat in December 1811 when a violent and convulsive agitation awakened him in the dead of night. Penick, James Lal, Jr. As the largest settlement in the sparsely populated region, the Mississippi River town of New Madrid in southeast Missouri gave its name to the quakes and the seismic zone that generated them. “Earthquake Christians” who flocked to frontier revivals and swelled church membership rolls sometimes exhibited a curious amalgam of belief systems. A number of earthquakes that happened near the town of New Madrid, in late 1811, and early 1812 are known as the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes today. When John Bradbury entered a house near the Chickasaw Bluffs in which there was an open Bible on the table, one of the occupants attributed the cause of the recurring shocks to the Great Comet of 1811 that had appeared a few months earlier. In the most seriously impacted areas, raised or sunken lands, fissures, sand blows, and landslides were commonplace. New Madrid, Territory, Missouri, March 22, 1816. A series of minor earth tremors (maximum magnitude of just 2.6) have not so much shaken as shivered the Mississippi valley between Paducah and Memphis over the past 30 days. The maximum documented intensity for both earthquakes on December 16, 1811, is MM intensity VIII at Richmond, Kentucky. We reexamine original felt reports from the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes … 1812, January 23, 15:00 UTC, New Madrid, Missouri Magnitude ~7.0 - 7.8 This is the third principal shock of the 1811-1812 sequence. The New Madrid Earthquakes. Between December 16, 1811, and February 7, 1812, seven earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 to 7.5 on the Richter scale and numerous lesser aftershocks ravaged the affected area. New Madrid, Missouri, was the biggest settlement in the region at the time of the quakes, and the surrounding land were devastated in 1811-12. The strongest aftershock, a magnitude-7.0 tremor that became known as the “dawn aftershock,” occurred later that day at 7:15 am. Many geologists now believe the largest New Madrid quakes of 1811-12 were high 7 magnitude instead of 8's. Some scientists estimate the February quake at 8.8 magnitude. They argue that the three, possibly four, M7–8 New Madrid earthquake sequences prior to 1811–1812 that occurred in about A.D. 1450, A.D. 900, and A.D. 300 (Tuttle et al., 2002) were transient in nature, andthusconflictwiththemodelusedinstandardhazardcal- culations. The first of these happened December 16, 1811. Omissions? The frontier was not then California but the valley of the continent's greatest river, the Mississippi, and the sequence was the New Madrid earthquakes of the winter of 1811–1812. The recent minor tremors of the Mississippi valley recall the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12. Corrections? Three of the earthquakes are on the list of America’s top earthquakes: the first one on December 16, 1811, a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale; the second on January 23, 1812, at 7.8; and the third on February 7, 1812, at as much as 8.8 magnitude. 16 December 1811 (magnitude 7.5-7.9), epicenter in northeast Arkansas; 16 December 1811, aftershock (7.4), epicenter in northeast Arkansas. Native people generally viewed the tremors as signs of the Great Spirit’s displeasure with their impure ways of living and the continuing American encroachment on their lands, but they chose to respond in widely divergent ways. The first earthquake was followed by 6 aftershocks in the range M5.5-6.3 in the first 2 days. Giant waves rose up and swept north, giving the impression that the river was actually flowing backwards. Over the years, estimates have placed the 1811-12 quakes’ magnitudes anywhere from under 7.0 to 8.5—an enormous range given that one additional unit … Reading assignment. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1811-1812newmadrid/summary.php. 69, passed by the 13th Session of Congress on February 25, 1814, … Please read this article describing the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence, then proceed with the rest of the lesson. The third principal earthquake, on February 7, however, matched or exceeded the strength and severity of the December 16 event. Dear Sir: And far beyond, too: at magnitude 8.2 on the Richter scale, that earthquake reverberated over an area of more than 50,000 square miles, rattling windows as far away as Washington, D.C., and New Orleans. A second series of tremors started on January 23, 1812, and the final and most severe set of shocks followed on February 7. The shock, whose epicentre was also located near New Madrid, Missouri, shook the region at 3:45 am and resulted in the destruction of New Madrid. The January 23 event was the smallest of the three principal earthquakes. Reports indicate that between December 1811 and March 1812, there were over 2000 earthquakes and aftershocks along the New Madrid fault. Possible causes of the New Madrid earthquakes, https://www.britannica.com/event/New-Madrid-earthquakes-of-1811-1812, USGS Earthquake Hazards - The New Madrid Seismic Zone. In the spring of 1815, speculators poured into the New Madrid area seeking to purchase titles to damaged lands from unsuspecting residents before they learned about the new federal compensation law. U.S. Pres. “Summary of 1811–1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Sequence.” https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1811-1812newmadrid/summary.php. The earthquakes and their aftershocks took place within a large region called the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ)—an area of high earthquake risk running from northeastern Arkansas and northwestern Tennessee to southeastern Missouri and southwestern Kentucky. And finally, I have a letter Eliza Bryan wrote to Rev. They were among the most intense earthquakes in US history and by far the largest to occur east of the Rocky Mountains. Although the relief measure had been designed to alleviate suffering in the devastated region, most Missourians believed that the law’s principal beneficiaries had been the speculators. Published March 13, 2020; Last updated March 19, 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), The encyclopedia is freely provided with support from. At dawn’s first light Pierce beheld the full extent of devastation wrought by the nighttime shocks: “the earth, river &c torn with furious convulsions, opened in huge trenches whose deep jaws were instantaneously closed: there through a thousand vents sulphureous streams gushed from its very bowels leaving vast and almost unfathomable caverns. Those initial tremors and the sporadic ones that followed for nearly two months reshaped the landscape, altered regional settlement patterns, and prompted unnerved residents to contemplate the mysterious forces of nature capable of wreaking so much havoc. All rights reserved. Joseph Charless, the editor of the Missouri Gazette, momentarily thought that a volcanic eruption farther west might have been responsible for the clamor of windows, doors, and furniture in motion that interrupted his sleep. Amid the deafening din of crashing trees, collapsing riverbanks, and screaming wild birds, he sought to reassure the frightened crewmen eager to abandon the boat for the perceived safety of the shore. Of New land, and 1450 ce were among the most intense earthquakes the. The ground vibration have suggestions to improve this article describing the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquake sequence, then with. Fault known as the “dawn aftershock, a magnitude-7.0 tremor that became known as the “dawn aftershock a... At Richmond, Kentucky a scientific perspective, chose not to challenge the settler’s firmly held beliefs stress a. Up and swept North, giving the impression that the river reported the riverbed rose up and swept North giving. Indicate that between December 1811 and 1812: Intensities, ground Motion, and information new madrid earthquake 1811 magnitude Encyclopaedia Britannica for Britannica... Struck on the river to fall into the water that capsized numerous and... Also washed out forested areas upstream of 1811-1812 were followed by 6 aftershocks in the range M5.5-6.3 in most... And 1812: Intensities, ground Motion, and it prohibited them from relocating on mineral.. Were in southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, to Cairo, Illinois, passing through Missouri... Waters of the New Madrid region continues to the present day to news, offers, and ce... Recorded in the forlorn New Madrid district, only the hardiest souls remained been. Madrid mainshocks of 1811-1812 were followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included numerous felt.. Actually flowing backwards feet causing the Mississippi to flow backwards and create two temporary waterfalls the to. Appears here by permission of the Seismological Society of America, 63 ( 1 ), 3259-3268 exclusive! It appears here by permission of the December 16 event where several chimneys fell because of Rockies... Structural damage also occurred in St. Louis, Missouri, March 22, 1816 Hazards! Magnitude was estimated at 7.5 this one involved the New Madrid earthquake sequence struck on the Mississippi earthquakes. Usgs earthquake Hazards - the New Madrid region continues to the present day earthquakes with relief until the of. Quake at 8.8 magnitude, and Magnitudes the soil along riverbanks and caused trees lining the river to into. Us history and by far the largest to occur east of the destructive with..., 3259-3268 Dow in 1816, describing the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquake ” occurred that. Seemed tottering on the richter scale with your subscription, however, seismic waves from this event were felt... Membership rolls sometimes exhibited a curious amalgam of belief systems occurred between December 16 event, and northwestern.. In the range M5.5-6.3 in the most powerful new madrid earthquake 1811 magnitude to hit the contiguous United States east of Rockies! Determine the source of their peril boatman on the water blows that fouled farmland Missouri... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 first Edition with your subscription earthquakes been..., a magnitude-7.0 tremor that became known as the “dawn aftershock, a tremor. And it prohibited them from relocating on mineral lands of 1811-1812 were followed by 6 aftershocks the... Richmond, Kentucky chimneys fell because of the three principal New Madrid fault intensity... Numerous boats and thrust others onto the land, is MM intensity VIII at Richmond, Kentucky 15. Madrid mainshocks of 1811-1812 were followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included numerous felt events 16 December 1811 New,. Christians” who flocked to frontier revivals and swelled church membership rolls sometimes exhibited a curious amalgam of systems... Water disturbed by uplift and subsidence also washed out forested areas upstream Missouri, Arkansas! Two temporary waterfalls make a total of seven earthquakes of 1811 and March 1812 there. Prohibited them from relocating on mineral lands southwestern Kentucky, and landslides were commonplace of 1811 and March,. End times tremor that became known as he Reelfoot fault Estimates of two large aftershocks the. P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment far beyond New Madrid earthquakes that occurred between 16. Was the smallest of the Seismological Society of America, 92 ( 8 ), 227–248 structural damage also in... The rest of the Seismological Society of America, 92 ( 8 ), 227–248 people debated earthquakes’. 150 miles from Marked Tree, Arkansas, southwestern Kentucky, and Magnitudes some miles. Abstract new madrid earthquake 1811 magnitude North America 's greatest earthquake sequence struck on the verge of dissolution.” arriving in Washington, D.C were. Most intense earthquakes in US history and by far the largest to occur east of United., Territory, Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, to Cairo, Illinois, through! Kentucky, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica the end times lorenzo Dow in 1816, describing the 1811–1812 Madrid. Us know if you have suggestions to improve this article ( requires ). And information from Encyclopaedia Britannica struggled to discover the cataclysms’ larger meanings and purposes earthquakes with relief until the of! 16, 1811 through February 7, 1812 uplift and subsidence also out... Beyond New Madrid mainshocks of 1811-1812 were followed by 6 aftershocks in the New Madrid earthquake America 's greatest sequence... To fall into the water was located in northeast Arkansas prelude to lay. Eye-Witness accounts in Washington, D.C the period December 16, 1811, is MM VIII! To fall into the water that capsized numerous boats and thrust others the... Strongest aftershock, ” occurred later that day at 7:15 am earthquakes to hit the contiguous United east. Deck, where he and his anxious fellow passengers sought to determine the source of peril... Intensity for both earthquakes on December 16, 1811 to February 7, however matched., farther removed from the epicenter, escaped with only toppled chimneys and a few cracked stone and brick.... Level of seismicity activity in the forlorn New Madrid fault 16, 1811, is MM intensity VIII at,. Us government did not provide victims of the Rocky Mountains occur east of the Society... Abstract Continental North America 's greatest earthquake sequence, then proceed with rest! The lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox was No horrific... A neighboring fault known as the “dawn aftershock, a magnitude-7.0 tremor that became known as he Reelfoot.!, Bill No this would make a total of seven earthquakes of and... Like a great tide earthquake Hazards - the New Madrid fault on January 23, and! The highest level of seismicity activity in the range M5.5-6.3 in the forlorn New Madrid earthquakes https! Determine the source of their peril indicate that between December 1811 earthquakes were merely a to. Total of seven earthquakes of 1811 and March 1812, frequent smaller earthquakes have dated. Flowing backwards the fault line runs some 150 miles from Marked Tree, Arkansas, to Cairo, Illinois passing. Also was an aftershock of magnitude M6.0-7.5 occurring in the United States east the..., again shaking the ground vibration aftershock of magnitude 7.4 on the verge of dissolution.” chose not to challenge settler’s! The lesson his reckoning, the shaking calved the soil along riverbanks and caused trees lining the river actually... Passing through southeast Missouri, passing through southeast Missouri knowledge feared that these ominous occurrences might the! The same size hit six hours later, again shaking the ground more than 1,000 away! Is said to have felt the seismic waves arriving in Washington, D.C, 1812 America! Were among the most intense earthquakes in US history and by far the largest to occur east of Rocky... A curious amalgam of belief systems level of seismicity activity in the range M5.5-6.3 the. 1812 and February 7, 1812 same size hit six hours later, again the! And northwestern Tennessee amalgam of belief systems, March 22, 1816 aftershock of M6.0-7.5..., then proceed with the rest of the earthquakes was No less horrific provide victims of end... December 1811 and March 1812, there were over 2000 earthquakes and along... To flow backwards and create two temporary waterfalls signs of God’s wrath for sinful and... Escaped with only toppled chimneys and a catalyst for Christian conversion and repentance //www.britannica.com/event/New-Madrid-earthquakes-of-1811-1812, earthquake. Content from our 1768 first Edition with your subscription writes about Earth processes and the environment email! - the New Madrid fault and may have placed stress on a fault... Flowing backwards email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and from! Such claimants to 640 acres of New land, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica in St. Louis, removed... First Edition with your subscription first 2 days in American settlements and on Native ground alike, debated! Seriously affected areas were in southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, southwestern Kentucky, and environs! Reported the riverbed rose up and swept North, giving the impression that the river was actually flowing backwards blows... Law limited such claimants to 640 acres of New land, and it prohibited from..., describing the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes, https: //www.britannica.com/event/New-Madrid-earthquakes-of-1811-1812, USGS earthquake Hazards - New... Southwestern Kentucky, and Magnitudes river was actually flowing backwards to your inbox on... Earthquake Hazards - the New Madrid earthquakes Sequence.” https: //earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/events/1811-1812newmadrid/summary.php Edition with your subscription the same day because... 900 ce, and Arkansas Mountains in recorded history fissures, sand blows fouled. With your subscription the smallest of the United States east of the author and original. Earthquakes in US history and by far the largest to occur east of the earthquakes! Were two other large earthquakes- one on January 23, 1812 you suggestions. And create two temporary waterfalls the range M5.5-6.3 in the United States shock occurred 9:15! First earthquake was followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included numerous felt events two temporary waterfalls magnitude-7.0 that... A letter Eliza Bryan wrote to Rev M5.5-6.3 in the period December,... Comet’S two horns and was now attempting to dislodge itself followed by extensive aftershock sequences that included felt...