Qualla: New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/hero-small.webp Qualla: New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster: Introduction https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone/ Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. In the winter of 1811-12, the strongest earthquakes in American history struck a region that Americans have convinced themselves is earthquake-free. The New Madrid Seismic Zone rumbled three times in two months, producing magnitude 7-8 earthquakes that rang church bells in Boston, toppled chimneys in Cincinnati, and temporarily reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. A 15-mile stretch of riverbank collapsed, creating Reelfoot Lake. The land rose and fell like ocean swells. If these earthquakes happened today, they would devastate Memphis, St. Louis, and everything in between. Seismologists say they will happen again. The region keeps building as if they won't.

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/dn2r-new-madrid-americas-sleeping-earthquake-monster-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster: The Earthquakes https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone/ Photo credit Brian Stansberry, CC BY 4.0. The New Madrid sequence began December 16, 1811, with a magnitude estimated at 7.5. Aftershocks continued for months. A second major earthquake struck January 23, 1812 (magnitude 7.3). The largest hit February 7, 1812 - perhaps magnitude 7.9, the largest earthquake in the contine...

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Image: Brian Stansberry | CC BY 4.0

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/dn2r-new-madrid-americas-sleeping-earthquake-monster-the-earthquakes.mp3 0:06 2 full New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster: The Zone https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone/ Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. The New Madrid Seismic Zone is an ancient rift system buried under the Mississippi River valley - a failed continental split that occurred 500 million years ago. The rift left weakened crust that concentrates stress from distant plate boundaries. Small earthquakes occur frequentl...

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/dn2r-new-madrid-americas-sleeping-earthquake-monster-the-zone.mp3 0:06 3 full New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster: The Risk https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone/ Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. USGS estimates give the New Madrid zone a 25-40% chance of producing a magnitude 6.0+ earthquake in the next 50 years. The probability of a repeat of 1811-12 is lower but not negligible. The consequences would be catastrophic: Memphis is built on the loose sediments that amplify ...

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/dn2r-new-madrid-americas-sleeping-earthquake-monster-the-risk.mp3 0:06 4 full New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster: The Denial https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone/ Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. California earthquakes dominate American consciousness; the Midwest seems solid. This perception is dangerous. The 1811-12 earthquakes were felt across nearly a million square miles - ten times the felt area of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Midwest's geology amplifies an...

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Image: Jonathunder | Public domain

]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/dn2r-new-madrid-americas-sleeping-earthquake-monster-the-denial.mp3 0:06 5 full New Madrid: America's Sleeping Earthquake Monster: Visiting the New Madrid Seismic Zone https://qualla.com/new-madrid-earthquake-zone/ Photo credit Jonathunder, Public domain. The New Madrid Seismic Zone has few visible features - the fault is buried too deep. The town of New Madrid, Missouri, has a historical museum interpreting the 1811-12 earthquakes. Reelfoot Lake State Park in Tennessee occupies the lake created by the earthquakes - 18,000 acres o...

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]]> Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/2/r/new-madrid-earthquake-zone-wk/dn2r-new-madrid-americas-sleeping-earthquake-monster-visiting-the-new-madrid-seismic-zone.mp3 0:06 6 full