Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake that destroyed the City. While that particular earthquake may have been the most devastating, it was far from the most intense quake felt in recent times in the United States. The three largest earthquakes ever to occur in the U.S. happened in the Winter of 1811–1812, near the small town of New Madrid, Missouri. Based on damage reports and eye-witness accounts, the earthquakes were of a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter Scale. The earthquakes caused a great buckling of the earth, and the Mississippi River to flow backwards.
The New Orleans, the first riverboat to ply the Mississippi River, was on its maiden voyage. Having moored at an island overnight, the crew awoke to find the island had disappeared.
Legend has it that Caddo Lake in East Texas and Northwest Louisiana was formed by the New Madrid Earthquake. A Caddo Indian village supposedly sat near what is now the center of the Lake. The Chief of the village had a premonition. He alerted everyone in the middle of the night and had them move, at once, to higher ground, his premonition saving the village from destruction.
The New Madrid Earthquake formed what is now known as the New Madrid Fault Zone. Many small earthquakes occur along this fault zone every year, but nothing in comparison to the Winter of 1811–1812. http://www.ericwilder.com/ http://justeastofeden.blogharbor.com/ http://energyissues.blogharbor.com/
