The Shadow
While the San Andreas Fault in California may receive more publicity, the New Madrid Fault that triggered powerful earthquakes in the winter of 1811-1812 caused the Mississippi River to reverse its course.
One of the results of what was estimated to be a 7.5 earthquake that knocked down building in Louisville, Ky. was that it created Reelfoot Lake which spreads 18,000 acres across Obion and Lake Counties in northwestern, Tenn.
The east side of the Mississippi River upheaval that formed Reelfoot Lake has now been designated as Reelfoot Lake State Park and National Refuge Center. It is located nearly 300 miles southwest of Louisville where structural damage to log structures occurred in 1811-1812.
Scientists have not determined the duration of time the Mississippi River flowed backward, but eyewitness accounts confirmed that the event occurred temporarily following the most powerful U.S. earthquake known to have occurred east of the Rockies.
Although Reelfoot Lake is five miles wide, its deepest point measures only 18 feet while its average depth remains just under six feet.
The lake serves as a natural habitat for American bald eagles, and the cypress trees there provide the eagles with ample nesting places.
At the southernmost point of Reelfoot Lake, the Running Bayou flows south where it empties into the Obion River in Dyer County, Tenn. The Obion River flows into the Mississippi River, the second longest river in North America, second only to the Missouri River that feeds it.
The main shock of the New Madrid earthquake and some of its aftershocks were felt as far away as the Gulf Coast, the East Coast and Quebec, Canada.
