{"id":143597,"date":"2026-06-02T23:32:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:32:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/the-day-the-mississippi-river-changed-direction\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T23:32:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:32:07","slug":"the-day-the-mississippi-river-changed-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/the-day-the-mississippi-river-changed-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"The Day the Mississippi River Changed Direction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-journey-body=\"standard-article\">\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"0\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story:<\/p>\n<ul data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-12c7ta7 emevuu60\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\" style=\"list-style-type:disc;\" data-node-id=\"1.0\">From December 1811 to February 1812, the central U.S. was rocked by a series of earthquakes, the last of which was the largest in modern history.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\" style=\"list-style-type:disc;\" data-node-id=\"1.1\">The earthquakes were so powerful that they consumed islands along the Mississippi River, created entirely new lakes, and even temporarily reversed the river\u2019s flow due to a \u201cfluvial tsunami.\u201d<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\" style=\"list-style-type:disc;\" data-node-id=\"1.2\">The New Madrid earthquakes, as there known, are a particularly powerful example of \u201cintraplate earthquakes\u201d\u2014seismic activity that occurs far from typical rumbling hotspots, such as plate boundaries and subduction zones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-node-id=\"2\" class=\"css-18pb4rg emevuu60\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Before the dawn of seismology and our modern understanding of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a28626320\/tectonic-plates-ancient-ocean\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a28626320\/tectonic-plates-ancient-ocean\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"plate tectonics\" data-node-id=\"3.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">plate tectonics<\/a>, earthquakes were often viewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lyellcollection.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1144\/sp310.6\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.lyellcollection.org\/doi\/abs\/10.1144\/sp310.6\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"divine acts of punishment\" data-node-id=\"3.3\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\"><u data-node-id=\"3.3.0\">divine acts of punishment<\/u><\/a>, and the catastrophic New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 seemed to lend credibility to that admittedly unscientific belief.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">According to local reports, the first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a43892547\/why-is-denmark-tremoring\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a43892547\/why-is-denmark-tremoring\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"tremors\" data-node-id=\"4.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">tremors<\/a> in the area began early on the morning of December 16<sup data-node-id=\"4.3\">th<\/sup>, 1811.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">\u201cWe were visited by a violent shock of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a71166749\/nankai-trough\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a71166749\/nankai-trough\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"earthquake\" data-node-id=\"6.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">earthquake<\/a>, accompanied by a very awful noise resembling loud but distant thunder, but more hoarse and vibrating,\u201d Eliza Bryan, a longtime resident of New Madrid, Missouri, <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.memphis.edu\/ceri\/compendium\/eyewitness.php\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.memphis.edu\/ceri\/compendium\/eyewitness.php\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"wrote about these first tremors\" data-node-id=\"6.3\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">wrote about these first tremors<\/a> in a letter to Methodist evangelist Lorenzo Dow years later. \u201cThe screams of the affrighted inhabitants running to and fro, not knowing where to go or what to do\u2014the cries of the fowls and beasts of every species, the cracking of trees falling, and the roaring of the Mississippi\u2014the current of which was retrograde for a few minutes, owing as is supposed, to an irruption in its bed\u2014formed a scene truly horrible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">This initial eruption, according to a calculation by seismologist Otto Nuttli in 1973, would\u2019ve measured approximately 7.2 on the body-wave magnitude scale (neither it nor the Richter scale would be invented until more than a century after the New Madrid quakes). Although small earthquakes were almost a daily occurrence in the region at this time, and remained so until 1814, major quakes were much rarer. And that\u2019s a big part of what made this particular string of events so shocking to residents\u2014subsequent major quakes on January 23, 1812, and February 7, 1812, would\u2019ve measured approximately 7.1 and 7.4 respectively on the same scale. In later work (1983), Nuttli estimated surface-wave magnitudes as high as 8.5, 8.4, and 8.8 for the three main shocks\u2014figures that, if accurate, would make the February 7 earthquake the strongest ever recorded in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a28648015\/light-pollution-map\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/space\/a28648015\/light-pollution-map\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"continental U.S.\" data-node-id=\"8.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">continental U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Despite being sparsely populated\u2014the closest city, 150 miles north of New Madrid, was St. Louis, which only had a population of some 5,700 people at the time\u2014the earthquakes still caused significant damage. Extensive landslides impacted 125 miles of bluffs on the east side of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/archaeology\/a65427403\/ancient-shipwreck-accidental-discovery\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/archaeology\/a65427403\/ancient-shipwreck-accidental-discovery\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"the Mississippi\" data-node-id=\"9.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">the Mississippi<\/a>, tree-lined river banks collapsed into the river, and the small town of New Madrid was severely damaged. The earthquakes destroyed so log cabins so frequently that many people decided to switch to living in tents while the quakes continued to rumble in the region.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"10\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">The largest earthquakes even impacted faraway regions of the nation\u2014chimneys toppled in St. Louis, bells rang in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/news\/a21056\/extremely-rare-shipwreck-unearthed-in-boston\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/news\/a21056\/extremely-rare-shipwreck-unearthed-in-boston\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Boston\" data-node-id=\"10.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">Boston<\/a>, and it was reported the wife of President James Madison, Dolly, was awakened by the first quake as she slept in Washington, D.C., some 900 miles away.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"11\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">During the last earthquake, boatmen on the Mississippi River reported that the river actually began to run backwards in parts, likely due to what\u2019s called a \u201cfluvial tsunami.\u201d The earthquakes caused tectonic uplifts that effectively dammed the river in spots and temporarily reversed its flow. <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/blog\/discover-why-the-mississippi-river-once-flowed-backward-for-24-hours\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/blog\/discover-why-the-mississippi-river-once-flowed-backward-for-24-hours\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Reports say it took days\" data-node-id=\"11.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">Reports say it took days<\/a> for the river to eventually wind around these newly formed obstructions. The earthquakes also consumed entire islands and formed new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/g41232174\/deepest-lakes-in-the-world\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/g41232174\/deepest-lakes-in-the-world\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"lakes\" data-node-id=\"11.3\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">lakes<\/a> as water rushed into new depressions. By the time the series of earthquakes came to an end, the course of the Mississippi River\u2014already known for its meandering ways\u2014had changed drastically. Luckily, due to the sparse population of the region at the time, deaths remained low for earthquakes of this magnitude. An <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/february-7\/earthquake-causes-fluvial-tsunami-in-mississippi\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/this-day-in-history\/february-7\/earthquake-causes-fluvial-tsunami-in-mississippi\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"estimated 1,000 people died\" data-node-id=\"11.5\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">estimated 1,000 people died<\/a>, though that number could be higher, since data is incomplete for certain populations, including Native Americans and enslaved people.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Centered primarily in Missouri\u2014but stretching into the nearby states of Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee\u2014the New Madrid fault was never your typical seismic hotspot. Most of the earthquakes in the United States are what&#8217;s known as \u201cinterplate\u201d quakes, meaning they occur along areas where two plate boundaries meet. These types of faults include the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a60446388\/san-andreas-fault\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a60446388\/san-andreas-fault\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"San Andreas Fault\" data-node-id=\"13.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">San Andreas Fault<\/a>, the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and the Queen Charlotte Fault in Alaska. Missouri, however, is famously located in the center of the North American plate. As a result, the New Madrid fault creates what are known as \u201cintraplate\u201d earthquakes, which are rumbles occurring far from typical plate boundaries. And from December 1811 until February 1812, the region learned just how powerful and devastating those kinds of earthquakes can be.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"14\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">In a more modern, densely populated context, intraplate earthquakes can be incredibly deadly, as the regions where they occur simply aren\u2019t prepared for them. The <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2001_Gujarat_earthquake#:~:text=The%20intraplate%20earthquake%20measured%207.6,the%20Pakistani%20province%20of%20Sindh.\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2001_Gujarat_earthquake#:~:text=The%20intraplate%20earthquake%20measured%207.6,the%20Pakistani%20province%20of%20Sindh.\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"2001 Gujarat earthquake in India and Pakistan\" data-node-id=\"14.1\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">2001 Gujarat earthquake in India and Pakistan<\/a> was also an intraplate earthquake, and it claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people. Given that the population\u2019s much larger now than in the early 19<sup data-node-id=\"14.3\">th<\/sup> century, if a New Madrid earthquake event happened again today, it would be far costlier in lives lost. And experts place the likelihood of such an event happening within the next 50 years at around <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/dps.arkansas.gov\/emergency-management\/adem\/plan-prepare\/earthquake\/20-intresting-facts\/#:~:text=Will%20a%20Damaging%20Earthquake%20Occur,somewhere%20between%2028%20and%2046%25.\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/dps.arkansas.gov\/emergency-management\/adem\/plan-prepare\/earthquake\/20-intresting-facts\/#:~:text=Will%20a%20Damaging%20Earthquake%20Occur,somewhere%20between%2028%20and%2046%25.\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"7 to 10 percent\" data-node-id=\"14.5\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">7 to 10 percent<\/a>. Though the New Madrid fault formed some 750 million years ago during the Neoproterozoic Era, it can still be activated by stress traveling across the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a64379298\/north-american-craton-dripping\/\" target=\"_self\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a64379298\/north-american-craton-dripping\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"North American plate\" data-node-id=\"14.7\" class=\"body-link css-vxmlos emevuu60\">North American plate<\/a>, whether from the continuous retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the downcutting of the Mississippi River, or alternations of mantle flow.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"15\" class=\"css-1ood0zq emevuu60\">Real wrath-of-the-gods type stuff.<\/p>\n<div data-journey-blur=\"partial\" data-ad-exclude=\"true\" data-fp-ignore=\"true\" class=\"css-19m4yzp e1jy25xv0\">\n<div class=\"css-sfzxfp ev8dhu59\"><span class=\"css-3mrz81 ev8dhu51\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1dsojn8 ev8dhu55\">\n<div class=\"css-18qd15 ev8dhu54\">\n<p>Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes\/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/science\/environment\/a71435479\/new-madrid-earthquakes\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\nMore: https:\/\/theglobaltrack.com\/<br \/>\nhttps:\/\/corinthiames.com.br\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story: From December 1811 to February 1812, the central U.S. was rocked by a series of earthquakes, the last of which was the largest in modern history. The earthquakes were so powerful that they consumed islands along the Mississippi River, created entirely new lakes, and even temporarily [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow2JLhCw:productID":"","_gspb_post_css":"","maa_idioma":"","maa_pais":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6492,39943,39947,3064,4674,39945,39951,39950,39944,12269,39949,7548,39946,39948],"class_list":["post-143597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ubirata","tag-changed","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-dcc5d52b-219f-4ad3-abb5-df795c0cd345","tag-day","tag-direction","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-listen_time-400","tag-locale-us","tag-mississippi","tag-read_time-5","tag-river","tag-shorttitle-what-caused-the-mississippi-river-to-reverse-flow","tag-subsection-our-planet"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - 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