The Largest Earthquakes in the United States
The Largest Earthquakes in the United States
Infoplease - The following table lists the largest earthquakes in the United States on record, according to rank, magnitude, date, and location. The largest earthquake to hit the U.S. was on March 28, 1964, when a 9.2 magnitude quake struck Prince William Sound in Alaska.
| Rank | Magnitude | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9.2 | March 28, 1964 | Prince William Sound, Alaska |
| 2. | 8.8 | March 9, 1957 | Andreanof Islands, Alaska |
| 3. | 8.7 | Feb. 4, 1965 | Rat Islands, Alaska |
| 4. | 8.3 | Nov. 10, 1938 | East of Shumagin Islands, Alaska |
| 8.3 | July 10, 1958 | Lituya Bay, Alaska | |
| 6. | 8.2 | Sept. 10, 1899 | Yakutat Bay, Alaska |
| 8.2 | Sept. 4, 1899 | Near Cape Yakataga, Alaska | |
| 8. | 8.0 | May 7, 1986 | Andreanof Islands, Alaska |
| 9. | 7.9 | Feb. 7, 1812 | New Madrid, Missouri |
| 7.9 | Jan. 9, 1857 | Fort Tejon, California | |
| 7.9 | April 3, 1868 | Ka'u District, Island of Hawaii | |
| 7.9 | Oct. 9, 1900 | Kodiak Island, Alaska | |
| 7.9 | Nov. 30, 1987 | Gulf of Alaska | |
| 7.9 | Nov. 3, 2002 | Central Alaska | |
| 15. | 7.8 | March 26, 1872 | Owens Valley, California |
| 7.8 | Feb. 24, 1892 | Imperial Valley, California | |
| 7.8 | Nov. 17, 2003 | Rat Island, Alaska | |
| 17. | 7.7 | Dec. 16, 1811 | New Madrid, Missouri area |
| 7.7 | April 18, 1906 | San Francisco, California | |
| 7.7 | Oct. 3, 1915 | Pleasant Valley, Nevada | |
| 20. | 7.6 | Jan. 23, 1812 | New Madrid, Missouri |
| 7.6 | June 28, 1992 | Landers, California | |
| 22. | 7.5 | July 21, 1952 | Kern County, California |
| 23. | 7.3 | Nov. 4, 1927 | West of Lompoc, California |
| 7.3 | Dec. 16, 1954 | Dixie Valley, Nevada | |
| 7.3 | Aug. 18, 1959 | Hebgen Lake, Montana | |
| 7.3 | Oct. 28, 1983 | Borah Peak, Idaho |
1. March 28, 03:36:14 UT (March 27, 5:36 P.M. local time)
Source: National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey.
Wikipedia - The 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes (pronounced /nuː ˈmædrɨd/) were an intense intraplate earthquake series beginning with an initial pair of very large earthquakes on December 16, 1811. These earthquakes remain the most powerful earthquakes to hit the eastern United States in recorded history. These events, as well as the seismic zone of their occurrence, were named for the Mississippi River town of New Madrid, then part of the Louisiana Territory, now within Missouri.
The 1811–1812 earthquakes
December 16, 1811, 0815 UTC (2:15 a.m.); (M ~7.2 – 8.1) epicenter in northeast Arkansas. It caused only slight damage to man-made structures, mainly because of the sparse population in the epicentral area. The future location of Memphis, Tennessee experienced level IX shaking on the Mercalli intensity scale. A seismic seiche propagated upriver, and Little Prairie (a village that was on the site of the former Fort San Fernando, near the site of present-day Caruthersville, Missouri) was heavily damaged by soil liquefaction.
December 16, 1811, 1415 UTC (8:15 a.m.); (M ~7.2–8.1) epicenter in northeast Arkansas. This shock followed the first earthquake by six hours and was similar in intensity.
January 23, 1812, 1500 UTC (9 a.m.); (M ~7.0–7.8) epicenter in the Missouri Bootheel. The meizoseismal area was characterized by general ground warping, ejections, fissuring, severe landslides, and caving of stream banks. Johnson and Schweig attributed this earthquake to a rupture on the New Madrid North Fault. This may have placed strain on the Reelfoot Fault.
February 7, 1812, 0945 UTC (4:45 a.m.); (M ~7.4–8.0) epicenter near New Madrid, Missouri. New Madrid was destroyed. At St. Louis, Missouri, many houses were severely damaged, and their chimneys were toppled. This shock was definitively attributed to the Reelfoot Fault by Johnston and Schweig. Uplift along a segment of this reverse fault created temporary waterfalls on the Mississippi at Kentucky Bend, created waves that propagated upstream, and caused the formation of Reelfoot Lake by obstructing streams in what is now Lake County, Tennessee.
Consequence of the 1811–12 earthquakes
Some sections of the Mississippi River appeared to run backward for a short time. Sand blows were common throughout the area, and can still be seen from the air in cultivated fields. The shockwaves propagated efficiently through the firm midwestern bedrock, with residents as far away as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Norfolk, Virginia, awakened by intense shaking. Church bells were reported to ring as far as Boston, Massachusetts and York, Ontario (now Toronto), and sidewalks were reported to have been cracked and broken in Washington, D.C.There were also reports of toppled chimneys in Maine.
Recurrence potential
In a report filed in November 2008, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that a serious earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone could result in "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States," further predicting "widespread and catastrophic" damage across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and particularly Tennessee, where a 7.7 magnitude quake or greater would cause damage to tens of thousands of structures affecting water distribution, transportation systems, and other vital infrastructure.
1812 New Madrid Earthquake
New Madrid fault and earthquake-prone region considered at high risk today.Wikipedia - The 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes (pronounced /nuː ˈmædrɨd/) were an intense intraplate earthquake series beginning with an initial pair of very large earthquakes on December 16, 1811. These earthquakes remain the most powerful earthquakes to hit the eastern United States in recorded history. These events, as well as the seismic zone of their occurrence, were named for the Mississippi River town of New Madrid, then part of the Louisiana Territory, now within Missouri.
The 1811–1812 earthquakes
December 16, 1811, 0815 UTC (2:15 a.m.); (M ~7.2 – 8.1) epicenter in northeast Arkansas. It caused only slight damage to man-made structures, mainly because of the sparse population in the epicentral area. The future location of Memphis, Tennessee experienced level IX shaking on the Mercalli intensity scale. A seismic seiche propagated upriver, and Little Prairie (a village that was on the site of the former Fort San Fernando, near the site of present-day Caruthersville, Missouri) was heavily damaged by soil liquefaction.
December 16, 1811, 1415 UTC (8:15 a.m.); (M ~7.2–8.1) epicenter in northeast Arkansas. This shock followed the first earthquake by six hours and was similar in intensity.
January 23, 1812, 1500 UTC (9 a.m.); (M ~7.0–7.8) epicenter in the Missouri Bootheel. The meizoseismal area was characterized by general ground warping, ejections, fissuring, severe landslides, and caving of stream banks. Johnson and Schweig attributed this earthquake to a rupture on the New Madrid North Fault. This may have placed strain on the Reelfoot Fault.
February 7, 1812, 0945 UTC (4:45 a.m.); (M ~7.4–8.0) epicenter near New Madrid, Missouri. New Madrid was destroyed. At St. Louis, Missouri, many houses were severely damaged, and their chimneys were toppled. This shock was definitively attributed to the Reelfoot Fault by Johnston and Schweig. Uplift along a segment of this reverse fault created temporary waterfalls on the Mississippi at Kentucky Bend, created waves that propagated upstream, and caused the formation of Reelfoot Lake by obstructing streams in what is now Lake County, Tennessee.
Consequence of the 1811–12 earthquakes
Some sections of the Mississippi River appeared to run backward for a short time. Sand blows were common throughout the area, and can still be seen from the air in cultivated fields. The shockwaves propagated efficiently through the firm midwestern bedrock, with residents as far away as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Norfolk, Virginia, awakened by intense shaking. Church bells were reported to ring as far as Boston, Massachusetts and York, Ontario (now Toronto), and sidewalks were reported to have been cracked and broken in Washington, D.C.There were also reports of toppled chimneys in Maine.
Recurrence potential
In a report filed in November 2008, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that a serious earthquake in the New Madrid Seismic Zone could result in "the highest economic losses due to a natural disaster in the United States," further predicting "widespread and catastrophic" damage across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and particularly Tennessee, where a 7.7 magnitude quake or greater would cause damage to tens of thousands of structures affecting water distribution, transportation systems, and other vital infrastructure.
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