The seismic zone of the New Madrid Fault includes Missouri.
The New Madrid Fault lies below the Mississippi River Valley in the Midwestern United States. It is part of the North American tectonic plate and the largest fault of the four located in this region. Whether these faults intersect or are exclusive to each other remains to be confirmed.
Faults result from fissures and breaks in rock formations. These faults increase seismic activity and cause periodic seismic events. Until the early 21st century, the New Madrid Fault received little scientific attention. Little information is available on this or any of the faults that make up this seismic zone, which encompasses Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
The New Madrid fault could threaten an area of the Midwest not usually associated with earthquakes.
It is difficult to decipher this flaw because its behavior is unique compared to other websites around the world. It is also a significant distance from competing tectonic plates, once considered a major cause of seismic activity.
The greatest activity on the New Madrid Fault is between 5 and 25 km below the Earth’s surface. The activity is unique in that earthquakes are felt hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometers from the epicenter and are consequently much more damaging. The reason such a wide expanse is affected is that the hundreds of miles of rock beneath most of the central and eastern United States is very rigid and much less fractured. This stronger and continuous floor does not absorb waves. As a result, this allows the waves to travel further. An earthquake of comparable size would cause much more damage if it were located on the New Madrid vs. the San Andreas fault.
The New Madrid Fault is part of the North American tectonic plate.
The New Madrid Fault is best known for the 1812 earthquake, which is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in modern times in the continental United States. It is estimated that he measured 8.0 on the Richter scale. It was preceded by three earthquakes, with magnitudes greater than 7.0. All four earthquakes occurred in a three-month period between 1811 and 1812. The strongest of these events was felt as far away as New England. The intensity of that earthquake caused the Mississippi River to recede for three days, creating permanent lakes and changing the course of the river itself. As new lakes, such as Reelfront Lake, formed, other lakes were permanently drained.
Some estimates put the New Madrid Fault at risk of strong and damaging earthquakes, which measure magnitude 7.0 every 300 to 500 years. Other research suggests a much shorter time frame. It is estimated that around 150 earthquakes occur each year in this region. More than 4,000 earthquakes have been identified since 1974.