One of the most unusual geological events in the history of the United States, and likely in all of North America, was the Great Missouri Earthquake of 1811 What makes it so unusual is its location in the center of the North American continent. This is a place that is not on a continental shelf, near no coastlines, and not near any major volcanoes or fault lines. Yet, it was one of the most devastating earthquakes east of the
Rocky Mountains in North American history.
Occurring on December 16, 1811, the earthquake was actually a series of three earthquakes, which included one major one and two still pretty strong aftershocks. The initial earthquake is estimated, based on eyewitness accounts and reports of damage, to have had a magnitude of close to 8.0. It hit the area of Caruthersville, Missouri the hardest, even though the epicenter was slightly south in
northeastern Arkansas. It was so strong that slight shaking from it was felt all across the eastern United States to the east coast.
The area was only sparsely populated by American settlers at the time, but what manmade structures were there were leveled, from Missouri to Arkansas to Tennessee, as far east as Memphis. The devastation to the human population there was incredible, and is described in many eyewitness
accounts...
