In Northwest Tennessee, just across the Mississippi river from New Madrid, Missouri is a flooded cypress forest called Reelfoot lake. Spanning 15,000 acres, this shallow, peaceful lake is a birding and fishing paradise. But despite it’s placid waters, Reelfoot Lake and the region it inhabits has a grim history starting with it’s violent creation as a result of the New Madrid Earthquake. In this first episode of a two part series, we tell the story of one of the largest earthquakes in recorded US history and how it changed the geography of the Riverlands.
If you’d like to know more about the creation of Reelfoot Lake, we found Reelfoot and the New Madrid Quake by Juanita Clifton to be particularly interesting.
For more information about the New Madrid Earthquakes check out these resources:
USGS Summary of the 1811-1812 Earthquakes
Strange Happenings During the Earthquakes from the City of New Madrid
The Great Midwest Earthquake from Smithsonian Magazine
This episode features music by Dark Fantasy Studios under a premium license.