...New Madrid, MO Earthquake of 1811-1812 Janelle E Kizer Geology 101 Spring 2012 1. Introduction: During 1811 – 1812, four earthquakes occurred in New Madrid, Mississippi River Valley, which are considered to be some of the most humongous earthquakes in the U.S. since the settlement by the Europeans. The first two was at 1811, December 16, Northeast Arkansas, Magnitude 7.2-8.1. The next one was at January 23, 1812 right at New Madrid, Missouri and the magnitude was 7-7.8. The last one occurred at February 7 of 1812, 9:45 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), in New Madrid, Missouri with a magnitude 7.4-8.0. All these earthquakes were 3 times stronger than the Alaska earthquake of 1964, and 10 times stronger compared to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. 2. Geographic location of New Madrid, MO: New Madrid was formed in 1808. It is situated on the Mississippi River and interstate 55. It has a population of 3154 residents, and it is considered as a small community in United States. New Madrid, MO is located at 36.59° North latitude, 89.53° West longitude and about 89 meters altitude above the sea level. Geographic coordinates: Latitude: 36.59° North Longitude: 89.53° West Altitude: 89 m [pic] 3. General geologic setting: A state’s general geologic setting basically includes what types of rock has build up the overall region, what structural features that state has, like, mountains and...
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...The New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–12, were three large earthquakes that happened near New Madrid, Missouri, from December 1811 to February 1812. There were thousands of aftershocks, about 1,874 of them were so large that they could be felt 190 miles away as far as Louisville, Kentucky. It is unknown how many lives were lost during the quakes. Scholars say that the number most likely wasn’t very large. The area that was affected by the quakes had a small population. The main one of the shocks produced by this quake happened around in the morning on December 16th in 1811. It is thought to have happened because of movement along the a fault in Arkansas. It was then followed by three considerably large aftershocks that had magnitudes that ranged...
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...New Madrid(1811-1812) In the autumn of 1811, the United States was barely 35 years old. The fledgling nation included only 17 states, all east of the Mississippi River, but it boasted a lot of new territory thanks to the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Neither the buyers nor the sellers knew that the recent addition's basement contained a seismic time bomb nearly ready to go off At around 2:15 a.m. on December 16, 1811, a series of massive earthquake pummeled what is now southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas with ground motions so strong that trees snapped in two as they whipped back and forth. The landscape rose several meters in some areas and sank in others, changing the courses of creeks and waterways. During one of the quakes, even the mighty Mississippi was diverted; portions near the quake's presumed epicenter flowed backward for at least several hours, and possibly a day or more. People felt the temblor as far away as New York state, and seismic vibes from an aftershock that struck at dawn traveled almost as far, reaching residents in Georgia and what would soon become the state of Louisiana. Another quake of a similar size , maybe an aftershock, or maybe a separate quake along a different portion of the same fault zone - rumbled on January 23, 1812. The final major shaking in the series came about two weeks later, on February 7, when spreading seismic waves flung books from their shelves in Charleston, S.C., and rattled cups and saucers in Washington, D.C. As...
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...Prof: Tanya Crail What’s a earthquake? According to the Geology Labs on-line website an earthquake is the sudden release of stored energy, caused by the shifting of tectonic plates. The energy release is a shock wave or seismic wave. The seismic wave is what causes the ground to move or shake, when this occurs we have a earthquake. According to the 2008 United States National Seismic Hazard Maps a lot of the west coast as far south as Hawaii, and north to Alaska has a lot of earthquake activity. The Pacific “Ring of Fire” (named for the large amount of active volcanoes), has a lot of tectonic activity. Tectonic plates are large plates of rock that make up the foundation of the Earth's crust and the shape of the continents. Question: What patterns do you see in the distribution of earthquakes across the continental United States? Answer: Earthquakes occur on fault lines, a location where tectonic plates have collided together and shifted or are sliding past each other. The size of the earthquake depends on how much slide or shift occurred. Most fault lines are located in costal areas, because of the continental and oceanic plates colliding together. Most of the United States earthquakes occurs on the west coast. California, and the entire west coast including Hawaii, and Alaska have the highest hazard rating at 64+, central locations of the United States like Texas, North and South Dakota seem to have the lowest risk of earthquakes, however Missouri, Illinois, Indiana...
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...“Earthquake Danger in the Midwest” Kaplan University SC300-13 July 1, 2011 The United States Geological Society (2011) states “The world’s earthquakes are not randomly distributed over the earth’s surface, and tend to be concentrated in narrow zones”. This statement seems to hold true when it comes to the distribution of earthquakes in the United States as they happen primarily in those narrow fault zones. These fault zones are located in Alaska (Prince William Sound), on our West Coast ( San Andreas Fault), on our East Coast (Rambo Fault Line) and in the Midwest (New Madrid Fault) which all lying on the North American Tectonic Plate, a massive irregularly shaped slab of solid rock which is approximately 8000 kilometers or almost 5000 miles wide (Trefil and Hazen, 2011). Tectonic plates are in constant motion as they interact along their margins to form mountain belts, earthquakes and volcanoes. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest. Living in Cincinnati, Ohio carries a relatively high risk of a major earthquake because it lies on the border of the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) and the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone (WVSZ) which have the most active geological areas in the eastern United States. The smaller of the two areas is the Wabash Valley area which lies in the Southeastern part of Illinois and Southwestern part of Indiana and came...
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...conclude that our world is a contradiction in terms. This is not the case, we dwell on solid rock that is the surface of the Earth; the overwhelming facets of the Earth exist below the surface. It is here that we will find the tectonic plates of the Earth and cause for Earthquakes. An earthquake occurs as the two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another (usgs.gov). Generally a quake will occur without warning, although many times there may be a foreshock (smaller earthquake near epicenter, similar to an aftershock), which is usually mistaken for the Earthquake until the actual higher magnitude quake occurs. These shifts seem to happen without warning, however, upon observation and tracking of geological survey, structures, and pattern, it is possible to decipher the probable location of an earthquake. The United States Geological Survey map is a valuable tool when attempting to decipher whether a particular state is an Earthquake hotspot. Upon review of the Geological survey, one will notice that Pacific coast and the islands in the Pacific Ocean are furthermost susceptible to the quakes. Hazard levels range the low teens to over fifty percent. Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri rest on the New Madrid Fault line; subsequently these are states that share the red zone symbolizing the greatest risk for activity. We will notice that further inland the states experience less hazard until we begin approaching the Southeast states (southern tips of a few Northeastern states)...
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...Lambert’s Café: the Only Home of Throwed Rolls If you want dinner and a show, Lambert’s Café, located in Foley, AL, Ozark, MO, and Sikeston, MO, is the one and only place to go. The Lambert family started it back in 1942, at Sikeston, MO. Then, in the 90’s, the café branched out to Ozark and Foley. The café looks like an old fashion restaurant from the outside, with rocking chairs, checkers, and an overall family friendly look. The interior is a room filled with comfortable wooden benches and tables. The walls and ceiling are covered with intriguing knick-knacks. [pic] The restaurant has a comical affect on the customers. Besides the fact that they throw rolls to whoever raises their hand, they also play hilarious pranks on their guests such as shooting a colored string at them as if it were ketchup or mustard. They also trick them into thinking that one of their roaming bowls, with a possum inside, is actually fried okra. The sections of their menu also show the café’s comical manner, along with reasonable pricing. [pic] The menu, besides being filled with slap-food comedy, is full of interesting and original meals such as their meal of pork chops under the section entitled “Slice O’ Hog- From the Left Side!” This meal is a steaming hot dinner of smoked or battered and deep fried pork chops with a choice of two sides. There is also the amazing meal of hamburger steak under the section “Beef, Steaks, & Ribs.” This one is a delicious meal of 100% sirloin beef covered in...
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...Earthquakes are one of Mother Nature’s most powerful forces and have plagued our lives for as long as people have inhabited the earth. These dangerous acts of the earth have been the cause of many deaths in the past century. So what can be done about these violent eruptions that take place nearly without warning? Predicting an earthquake, until now, has almost been technologically impossible. However, with recent improvements in technology and science, many lives have been saved and many more will be. What is an earthquake and how do they occur? Did you know that most of the famous mountains are a result of an earthquake? (Cosmeo, 2008) That tidbit of information was just a little side note; now back to the paper. Earth is a planet that is made up of multiple layers. These layers include an inner layer and an outer layer and layer in between. The inner layer of the earth is a ball of molten rock that rotates within the earth. The other layers that are on top of the inner layer are floating about as a pliable ball of molten rock. The outer layer is what we refer to as the crust. The crust is very thin when compared to the other layers of the Earth. For example, think of the outer layer of an orange as it relates to the interior of the orange. This example relates closely to what the Earth looks like when we examine the crust. The crust and other layers floats upon the mantle core. The crust of the earth is made up of multiple pieces. Each of these giant pieces is called a tectonic...
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...have attached several maps in order to see different parts of the land. Map I shows where the county lines are located within Tennessee. You can also see where Memphis is located within the county. Map II shows the elevation levels of the state. As you can see in that map, Memphis is located within the lowest elevation levels of the state. Map III shows the rivers that run throughout the state. The main river that runs between the Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri borders is the Mississippi River. There are several natural disasters that I would consider to be threats to the Memphis area. One natural disaster that I would consider to be a concern to Memphis would be an earthquake. According to the United States Geological Survey, (USGS), there is an approximately six percent chance that there will be a major earthquake within 50 kilometers of Memphis in the next 50 years (Homefacts.com)....
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...components important to safety be designed to withstand the effects of natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tsunami, and seiches without loss of capability to perform their safety functions. Required Investigation for Vibratory Ground Motion. The purpose of the investigations required by this paragraph is to obtain information needed to describe the vibratory ground motion produced by the Safe Shutdown Earthquake. All of the steps in paragraphs (a)(5) through (a)(8) of this section need not be carried out if the Safe Shutdown Earthquake can be clearly established by investigations and determinations of a lesser scope. The investigations required by this paragraph provide an adequate basis for selection of an Operating Basis Earthquake (a) Determination of Design Basis for Vibratory Ground Motion. The design of each nuclear power plant shall take into account the potential effects of vibratory ground motion caused by earthquakes. The design basis for the maximum vibratory ground motion and the expected vibratory ground motion should be determined through evaluation of the seismology, geology, and the seismic and geologic history of the site and the surrounding region. The most severe earthquakes associated with tectonic structures or tectonic provinces in the region surrounding the site should be identified, considering those historically reported earthquakes that can be associated with these structures or provinces and other relevant factors. If...
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...to you see in the distribution of earthquakes across the continental United States? Most earthquakes occur in the United States along the coast of the Pacific, particularly the shoreline of California, Alaska and Japan in addition to earthquakes that occur in the mid-west and east coast states and along the border amid Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee. As noted, the highest levels of risk are in the west coast whereas the eastern central region is more moderate risk and insignificant risks are among northern and southern regions. Locate your home on this map and make a note of the relative risk to you by indicating the color where you live. Chicago, Illinois – has a very low hazard of occurrence. Magnitude: 2.5; Region: Mid-West. According to Earthquakes (2012), Illinois is at risk from two major seismic zones, the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone and the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ). The Wabash Valley Zone is located between southeastern Illinois and southwestern Indiana. The NMSZ is located in the Central Mississippi Valley and includes portions of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee. During any 50-year time span, there is a 25% to 40% chance of a magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquake in this seismic zone. Since 1974, the year network monitoring of seismic activity began, more than 3000 earthquakes have been recorded in the NMSZ. Fortunately, none of these earthquakes exceeded a magnitude of 5.0, and most...
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...In the United States, the most high risk earthquake areas according to the USGS Map ("USGS," 2008) are the western most outer lying areas running from California to Seattle. There is one hotspot covering Northeast Arkansas, Southeast Missouri, Western tip of Tennessee, and then the Eastern portion of South Carolina. With the exception of the hotspot in the middle of the country, the real hot spots are the outer lying areas, mostly on the west coast, but in South Carolina as well are some hazardous areas in the Northeast, like the tippy top of Maine, a little part of the northern part of New York. It is not as great on the opposite side of the country, but still reaches up to 32 on the scale that goes to 64, so that is half as dangerous as California or the state of Washington, but much greater than in most other parts of the country. That leads to the conclusion that coastal states are much more dangerous than the rest of the country with the exception of the one Midwestern area noted earlier. Around the world, the pattern that shows up is that island countries, such as Japan in the Pacific, or the Dominican Republic in the Atlantic are the highest risk areas. South Central Pennsylvania is a relatively low risk area, coming in at the 4 – 8 mark on the scale, but just outside of the higher risk area of Eastern Pennsylvania, which is slightly higher and goes up to 16 on the scale. If a good job opportunity came up in a high risk, red area, I would take the risk because it would...
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...Wabash Watershed Rhonda Seals Excelsior Wabash Watershed Global warming affects all of us. This is not just a "them" thing, or a "they" thing. Everyone on the planet needs to be aware of the consequences of their actions in contributing to global warming or as most people know it, The Green House Effect. Mankind has been contributing to this since the beginning of time in one way or another. Granted, we are doing more damage now than we did 100 years ago, but nonetheless, damage has been done. The proof is the average global temperature increasing expeditiously. "Data gathered from surface weather stations, ships, buoys, balloons, satellites, ice cores, and other paleoclimatological sources indicate that the climate of Earth is becoming warmer." (Hess, 2011, p.91) "Over the twentieth century, average global temperatures increased by more than 0.7°C (1.3°F)." (Hess) This is a remarkable statement, which even the most skeptic person cannot dismiss or ignore. "The increase in greenhouse gas concentration has been accompanied by a slight, yet nonetheless measurable, increase in average global temperature, raising the likelihood that humans are altering the global energy balance of the atmosphere. This important issue generally referred to as global warming". (Hess) Some of the data that scientist, biologist, geographers, and others use in determining the actual effects of global warming are temperature changes, precipitation, evapotranspiration...
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...could say about the earthquake, because the seismometers had been 152 knocked out by its severity. He told them the direction from which it came, along with its approximate distance (based on the time between different waves, but not the P and S that are normally used, as described earlier). From these he guessed that the earthquake was near Santa Cruz, and he was also able to roughly guess its strength. He boasted to me that for several hours his information was the best available. I must mention, however, that this “expert” is the same friend who bought a house on dredged coastal fill, the worst possible place to be in an earthquake; that is why he was able to view this earthquake so well. Scope of the problem To begin to see the scope of the problem of earthquakes and people, let’s consider a few statistics: • ~150 earthquakes each year are potentially damaging (Mw 6); • ~20 earthquakes each year cause severe damage (Mw 7); • in the 1990’s, more than 100,000 people were killed in earthquakes, especially those in Iran, India, Russia, and Japan. This was a worse death toll than usual, not because of more earthquakes but because they happened to affect highly populated areas. By comparison, storm surges killed 300,000 people in 1992 alone, mostly in Bangladesh. • the largest earthquake of the last 40 years, the Mw 9.2 Sumatra earthquake, created a tsunami that killed 228,000 people; • globally, the risk of being killed by an earthquake is ~1 in a million...
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...Discursive essay Was it the right decision to hold the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo? It was a real triumph for the whole Japan, as the Japanese capital, Tokyo, was picked by members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the Olympic Games in 2020, beating out rival cities. Millions of Japanese are happy with this decision and they are sure the world biggest sport event will give them a new hope, which will lead the country to a new level. On the other side, there are a lot of people disappointed by this choice, because of a high probability of danger both for the participants of the Olympiad and for the fans, as environmental disaster occurred on the island state. Although the ecological situation and safety problem are to be solved yet, the choice to carry out Olympics in Japan’s capital is good in all aspects. The main reason to host the Olympics in Tokyo is that Japan is reliable in economic and financial terms. Firstly, it’s the world's second largest developed economy and is often ranked among the world's most innovative countries according to the International Monetary Fund, and has already banked a $4.5bn reserve fund for 2020. Secondly, Tokyo’s government projects that the Games will generate $30 billion in economic benefits for Japan—and that, it is said, is a conservative estimate since it calculates only direct spending on the Olympics. One of the ideas is to boost domestic consumption, helping wrest the country from a couple decades of debilitating...
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