Rapids

In what year was it that we had an earthquake that made the Mississippi River run backwards?

In the history books at some point in time we had an earthquake that supposablely sent the Mississippi River running backwards. Does anyone know what year this would have been in?

Public Comments

1. it was a part of the mississippi not the whole river and it was in the early 1900s i think 1908
2. It was likely the New Madrid Quake of 1812. See here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Earthquake
3. The last time was 1812. However there were other huge quakes in the early 1600s and 1400s and probably every 200-240yrs prior to the last quake for thousands of years. However the area wasn't settled yet so there is no way of telling if the Mississippi ran backwards during those also. It's very possible though.
4. it was sometime during the winter of 1811-1812. it ran backwards for two weeks. * December 16, 1811, 0815 UTC (2:15 a.m.); 7.7 magnitude; epicenter in northeast Arkansas; Mercalli XI. It caused only slight damage to man-made structures, mainly because of the sparse population in the epicentral area. However, landslides and geological changes occurred along the Mississippi River, and large localized waves were caused by fissures opening and closing below the Earth's surface. * December 16, 1811, 1415 UTC (8:15 a.m.); 7.0 magnitude; epicenter in northeast Arkansas; Mercalli X-XI. This shock followed the first earthquake by six hours. * January 23, 1812, 1500 UTC (9 a.m.); 7.6 magnitude; epicenter in the Missouri Bootheel. The meizoseismal area was characterized by general ground warping, ejections, fissuring, severe landslides, and caving of stream banks. * February 7, 1812 (the New Madrid Earthquake), 0945 UTC (4:45 a.m.); 7.9 magnitude; epicenter near New Madrid, Missouri. New Madrid was destroyed. At St. Louis, Missouri, many houses were severely damaged, and their chimneys were toppled. The seismic area was characterized by general ground warping, ejections, fissuring, severe landslides, and caving of stream banks. [edit] Geologic effects Large areas sank into the earth, fissures opened, lakes permanently drained, new lakes were formed, and forests were destroyed over an area of 150,000 acres (600 km²). Many houses at New Madrid were thrown down. "Houses, gardens, and fields were swallowed up" one source notes. But fatalities and damage were low, because the area was sparsely settled.[2] The earthquakes were felt as far away as New York City and Boston, Massachusetts, where churchbells rang.[3] [edit] Mississippi River course changes View to the northeast along the former riverbed of the Mississippi River View to the northeast along the former riverbed of the Mississippi River This series of temblors caused permanent changes in the course of the Mississippi River, which appeared to flow backward.[4] Because of the change in the course of the Mississippi River, land was cut off from counties by the river and wound up on the other side of the new riverbed, on the other side of the Mississippi. The settlement of Reverie, Tennessee, in Tipton County was cut off and placed on the western bank of the Mississippi River on the Arkansas side.[5] Along the Tennessee/Arkansas state line, geological features are still present almost 200 years after the events, showing the former course of the Mississippi River as it was before the 1811/1812 earthquakes. for more information see this site; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Madrid_Seismic_Zone