Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content
This is a Non-Federal dataset covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov.

New Madrid Seismic Zone

Metadata Updated: November 12, 2020

The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) has been responsible for producing some of the largest intraplate earthquakes on record (Tuttle et al., 2002). Paleoseismologic studies of sand blows and the Reelfoot fault show that earthquakes occurred in the last 4000 years at intervals of approximately 400-600 years (Kelson et al., 1995; Tuttle et al., 2002; Holbrook et al., 2006). The 1811-1812 NMSZ sequence produced three major earthquakes (M 7-8) followed by several large aftershocks and hundreds of smaller ones, resulting in a felt area that reached the east coast of the United States and caused destruction of several settlements along the Mississippi River due to liquefaction and strong shaking (Nuttli 1973, Johnston and Schweig, 1996). The risk of another large destructive earthquake in this region is of great concern to the USGS and local and federal authorities because several large metropolitan areas (Memphis, Little Rock, Nashville, St. Louis), and hundreds of smaller communities lie in or near the NMSZ.The mechanism for occurrence of earthquakes in the NMSZ is widely debated. Studies reveal the NMSZ is underlain by a failed rifting event, dating from late Precambrian. During the failed rifting event, emplacement of mafic plutons throughout the crustal column took place. Further studies show a correlation between the rift and current seismic activity. This correlation suggests that the source of the earthquakes was from slippage along weak zones within the failed rift caused by the E-W compressive stress of the region, a result of plate motion. Seismic monitoring shows that there is a spatial correlation of the active seismic zone with the failed Reelfoot Rift.

Access & Use Information

Non-Federal: This dataset is covered by different Terms of Use than Data.gov. License: No license information was provided.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Date September 18, 2012
Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
Metadata Updated Date November 12, 2020
Reference Date(s) September 18, 2012 (publication)
Frequency Of Update

Metadata Source

Harvested from OpenTopography CSW

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date September 18, 2012
Metadata Created Date November 12, 2020
Metadata Updated Date November 12, 2020
Reference Date(s) September 18, 2012 (publication)
Responsible Party U.S. Geological Survey (Originator); null (Originator); Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (Originator); Watershed Sciences, Inc (Originator)
Contact Email
Guid OT.082012.26915.1
Access Constraints
Bbox East Long -89.9021127476676
Bbox North Lat 36.7646167984855
Bbox South Lat 36.1158357218633
Bbox West Long -90.4560135611341
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update
Harvest Object Id f2f5c8ac-7aca-4ef5-b7e0-049474fb1c51
Harvest Source Id 1017486a-47c7-4139-9ed4-a4d93503679a
Harvest Source Title OpenTopography CSW
Licence
Metadata Language en
Metadata Type geospatial
Progress
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System UTM Zone 15N NAD83 (CORS96) [EPSG: 26915]
Spatial Harvester True

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.