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Missouri Bootheel
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==New Madrid fault zone== Earthquakes have long been frequent in the area. The [[New Madrid Seismic Zone|New Madrid Fault Zone]] is named for the city of [[New Madrid, Missouri|New Madrid]] in the Bootheel. This [[Fault (geology)|fault zone]] is entirely hidden beneath the deep alluvial deposits of the [[Mississippi embayment]]. Unlike the [[San Andreas Fault]] in [[California]], it is not visible anywhere. This fault zone was responsible for an extremely powerful series of [[earthquake]]s that rocked the area in 1811 and 1812, known collectively as the [[1811β12 New Madrid earthquakes|New Madrid earthquake]]. It was reported to have been so powerful as to ring church bells along the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]. [[Subsidence]] formed [[Reelfoot Lake]] on the other side of the Mississippi River in [[West Tennessee]]. An eyewitness of the earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 noted: {{cquote|Great fissures opened the earth, geysers show mud and rocks hundreds of feet in the air, new hills and ridges heaved up out of the ground, and the river itself ran red with brimstone and sulfur. Whole islands in the river disappeared, the forests went under, the tall oaks snapped like twigs, and violent winds tossed bundles of fallen timbers. Deafening thunder rang to the heavens. Animals went crazy; thousands of birds hovered and screamed.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Hall |first1=B. C. |last2=Wood |first2=C. T. |title=Big Muddy: Down the Mississippi Through America's Heartland |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-452-27010-3 }}.</ref>}} The states of Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana felt the brunt of this quake, ruining lives and leaving residents in fear of aftershocks and possible larger quakes. The New Madrid Seismic Zone is still active and frequently produces small earthquakes. Scientists have estimated that a strong earthquake is inevitable and is overdue. Residents of the area are aware of the risk, but critics say they are not well prepared for a disaster. William Atkinson, author of ''The Next New Madrid Earthquake'', writes:{{cquote|The area is well overdue for a moderately powerful tremor- which will cause major damage and undoubtedly some casualties...With each passing year, the inevitable earthquake is becoming more powerful, while the state of readiness in the Mississippi Valley remains woefully inadequate.}} Given the population in the area, even a moderately sized earthquake would be disastrous.<ref>{{Citation |last=Atkinson |first=William |title=The Next New Madrid Earthquake: A Survival Guide for the Midwest |location=Carbondale, IL |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |year=1989 |isbn=0-8093-1319-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/nextnewmadridear0000atki }}</ref>
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