Apart from the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes, only three major events have struck the state of Tennessee, in 1843, 1865, and 1895. Several minor events have taken place as well.
1865 Memphis earthquake.
| Memphis | |
|---|---|
| UTC time | 1865-08-17 15:00 |
| Epicenter | 36.0°N 89.5°W |
| Areas affected | Tennessee United States |
| Max. intensity | VII (Very strong) |
When was Tennessee’s last earthquake?
An early-morning earthquake hit near the Tennessee-Missouri border, rattling dozens of people on Tuesday, May 31. The 3.1-magnitude tremor was the largest of several quakes that hit the region this week, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
What are the top 3 largest magnitude earthquakes to happen in Tennessee?
Here are the most powerful Tennessee earthquakes from the last 100 years
- 4.0 — near Ridgely, Tennessee.
- 4.1 — near Ridgely, Tennessee.
- 4.2 — near Vonore, Tennessee.
- 4.4 — near Decatur, Tennessee.
- 4.7 — near Maryville, Tennessee.
Did Tennessee ever have an earthquake?
Between mid-December 1811 and mid-March 1812 a series of catastrophic earthquakes shook West Tennessee and the rest of the Central Mississippi Valley. Judging from reports and eyewitness accounts, the quakes would have measured among the highest ever recorded on the modern Richter scale.
What are the 3 strongest earthquakes?
In contrast, two of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, such as the Chile earthquakes of 1960 and 2010, had relatively small death tolls.
- The Kashmir Earthquake (Pakistani-administered Kashmir)
- The Sichuan Earthquake (Sichuan province, China)
- The Great Peruvian Earthquake (western Peru)
Was Tennessee ever underwater?
Beachfront property is probably the last thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Nashville, but then again none of us was around 450 million years ago. During what geologists refer to as the Ordovician period, Middle Tennessee wasn’t just closer to the ocean—it was below it, submerged up to 100 feet in spots.
How often does Tn get earthquakes?
Background on Earthquakes in Tennessee
According to the United States Geological Survey, the number of earthquakes in Tennessee hovered around just 30-50 per year during the mid-to-late 1990s. That number increased to approximately 150 in the mid-2000s and shot up to nearly 300 in the late 2010s.
When was the biggest earthquake in Tennessee?
The strongest earthquake ever recorded in East Tennessee was a 4.7-magnitude in 1973, with an epicenter in Alcoa.
Where is the fault line in Tennessee?
The fault lines include the New Madrid Fault, which runs approximately 120 miles south from Charleston, Missouri, via Mew Madrid and Caruthersville, and the East Tennessee fault line, which runs from Chattanooga to Knoxville and on to North Carolina and is considered to be active.
Is Memphis TN on a fault line?
Memphis lies adjacent to the New Madrid Seismic Zone aka New Madrid Fault Line. The zone is a series of faults and secondary fractures that extend from Marked Tree, Arkansas into southern Illinois and has produced epic temblors in the past.
Why is Tennessee having so many earthquakes?
Earthquakes frequently occur in Tennessee because the Volunteer State has two seismic zones — the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) in the west and the East Tennessee Seismic Zone in the east.
How many earthquakes in Tennessee a year?
Audio of the earthquakes waveform can be heard here. Home Facts reports that on average Tennessee sees 6 earthquakes per year and calculates a total of 531 quakes recorded since 1931.
Are there tectonic plates in Tennessee?
Tennessee is in two seismic zones, the New Madrid and the East Tennessee zone.
Has there ever been a 10.0 earthquake?
No, earthquakes of magnitude 10 or larger cannot happen. The magnitude of an earthquake is related to the length of the fault on which it occurs. That is, the longer the fault, the larger the earthquake.
What’s the worst earthquake ever?
The biggest earthquake ever recorded, of magnitude 9.5, happened in 1960 in Chile, at a subduction zone where the Pacific plate dives under the South American plate.
When was the last worst earthquake?
List of largest earthquakes by magnitude
| Rank | Magnitude | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9.1 | December 26, 2004 |
| 2 | 9.0 | March 11, 2011 |
| 3 | 8.8 | February 27, 2010 |
| 4 | 8.6 | March 28, 2005 |
What is the poorest city in Tennessee?
Morristown was ranked the poorest city in Tennessee in a 24/7 Wall St. analysis examining U.S. municipalities where households earn less than the nation’s median annual household income of $65,712.
Did Tennessee have dinosaurs?
Edmontosaurus is the only land dinosaur fossil found in Tennessee. We have also found other “sea-going” dinosaur fossils. They include the Mosasaur, Plesiosaur, and two different sharks.
Did dinosaurs live in TN?
The Edmontosaurus is a hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, and these types of dinosaurs once roamed the coastal plains of Tennessee. The McClung Museum also houses actual hadrosaur bones—the only non-avian dinosaur bones ever found in the state—in its Geology and Fossil History of Tennessee permanent exhibit.
Could Memphis have an earthquake?
Memphis has a dense urban population near faults capable of producing major earthquakes.
How many earthquakes has Tennessee had?
Tennessee has recorded four “significant” earthquakes in the past 25 years, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.