New Madrid Seismic Zone

From 1811-1812, 3 large earthquakes believed to be 8.0 or greater on the Richter scale shook eight states from the southern US to the eastern side of the US ranging from, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Aftershocks were felt as far away as Montreal Canada some 1,200 miles away. Fortunately, the area was sparsely populated at the time. There were only about 400 residents in the frontier town of New Madrid, Missouri. They were awakened in the middle of the night when the first big quake hit December 16, 1811. Below is a video from CNN: (Watch what could happen if a quake hit the U.S. heartland -- 2:45) http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/04/18/new.madrid/index.html