Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
If you look at an earthquake hazard map of the United States, you'll see a huge hot spot where Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee come together. The high hazard zone extends down into Arkansas and northeast towards Illinois and Indiana. This New Madrid Seismic Zone served up 3 monster earthquakes in 1811 and 1812. Why did these quakes happen here, far from any sort of plate boundary or mountain range? This video talks about the geology behind the event, how it may have reversed the Mississippi River momentarily, and how it created a lake. Microsoft Paint diagrams are used along with Google Earth and LiDAR from The National Map.
If you look at an earthquake hazard map of the United States, you'll see a huge hot spot where Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee come together. The high hazard zone extends down into Arkansas and northeast towards Illinois and Indiana. This New Madrid Seismic Zone served up 3 monster earthquakes in 1811 and 1812. Why did these quakes happen here, far from any sort of plate boundary or mountain range? This video talks about the geology behind the event, how it may have reversed the Mississippi River momentarily, and how it created a lake. Microsoft Paint diagrams are used along with Google Earth and LiDAR from The National Map.
