Tree Damage Near New Madrid, MO

The Earthquake of 1811 There is not much that the average Memphian knows about this town's history, much less of the area before it became a town.  Of those who know anything at all the two things most frequenty mentioned are the presence of Native Americans (The Chicasaws after whom the minor league baseball team The Memphis Chicks was named), and that there was once a really bad earthquake in the area. Both stories are true, but some of the particulars are a little exaggerated.  The 1811-1812 earthquake hardly needs to be exaggerated for effect.  It is generally thought to be the greatest North American earthquake on record, though the written records only go back 200 years.  Beginning on the night of December 11, 1811 an earthquake measuring between 8 and 9 on the Richter Scale (there was no Richter Scale in those days, so this is an estimate made by geologists.

The gigantic shake in the early morning of December 16 was only the first in a series of four. There was a second shock hours later. A third quake rocked the area on January 23 and a fourth -- the biggest of all -- was felt on February 7. Between the major quakes, there were thousands of aftershocks.  Some scientists believe the biggest of the quakes may have exceede 9.0, but this is debated.  It is generally agreed that three of the four quakes exceeded 8.0.

The quake, whose epicenter was near New Madrid, Missouri shook the ground so hard that the earth was seen to ripple in waves like water.  Inlets to the Mississippi River were closed while others opened.  Members of the Chickasaw Nation found themselves paddling canoes past tree tops.  A giant lake, later to be called Reelfoot Lake was formed by the earthquake.  Churchbells rang from the tremors all the way to Boston. 

Reelfoot Lake was formed in a very short period of time by this series of earthquakes.  The legend that the Mississippi River ran backwards for three days to fill the 15,000 acre lake are misguided.  The lake probably filled up in less than three hours and it is unclear if this would give the river the appearance of “flowing backwards“.  In all probability the river would have been experienced as becoming much more shallow for the 2 to 3 hour period.