1843 Marked Tree earthquake

1843 Marked Tree earthquake
1843 Marked Tree earthquake is located in Arkansas
1843 Marked Tree earthquake
Location within Arkansas
UTC time
  • 1843-01-05 02:45:00
ISC event
USGS-ANSS
Local date
  • January 4, 1843
Local time
  • about 8:45–9:00 p.m.
Magnitude
  • 6.3 (USGS estimate)[1]
    5.4–6.2 (published estimates)[2][3]
Epicenter35°30′00″N 90°30′00″W / 35.500°N 90.500°W / 35.500; -90.500[1]
Areas affectedUnited States
Max. intensityMMI VII (Very strong)[4]

The 1843 Marked Tree earthquake was a historical earthquake in the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States. It occurred near present-day Marked Tree, Arkansas, on the evening of January 4, 1843, local time, corresponding to 02:45 UTC on January 5.[1][5] The United States Geological Survey lists the event as magnitude 6.3, while later studies have estimated magnitudes between 5.4 and 6.2.[1][2][3]

The earthquake damaged chimneys, brickwork and other structures in parts of the Mississippi Valley, with strong shaking reported at Memphis, Tennessee, New Madrid, Missouri, Helena, Arkansas, and other communities in the region.[6][4][5] Because the event predates local instrumental seismology, its exact rupture area, source fault, depth, casualties and total damage are not known with precision.[2]

Tectonic setting

Marked Tree lies near the southern part of the New Madrid seismic zone, an active intraplate seismic zone in the central Mississippi Valley. The zone includes northeastern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, northwestern Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky, and its faults are deeply buried beneath river sediments.[7] The seismic zone overlies the Reelfoot Rift, a buried system of crustal fractures and faults formed during ancient continental rifting.[7]

The region has produced some of the largest historical earthquakes in North America, including the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Later damaging shocks in the same broad region include the 1843 Marked Tree earthquake and the 1895 Charleston earthquake.[7][8]

Earthquake

Contemporary reports placed the earthquake on Wednesday evening, January 4, 1843, at approximately 8:45 to 9:00 p.m. local time.[5] The USGS historical event page gives a UTC origin time of January 5, 1843, at 02:45:00 and an epicenter at 35.500° N, 90.500° W, near Marked Tree.[1] Magnitude estimates differ because the earthquake is known from historical accounts rather than modern seismograms. The USGS lists it as magnitude 6.3.[1] Hough's 2013 reassessment proposed a preferred magnitude of 5.4 after considering possible reporting and sampling biases in historical intensity data.[2] A 2021 study of historical earthquakes in the central United States calculated a magnitude of 6.2 using relationships among reported Modified Mercalli intensities, spectral accelerations, peak ground velocities and local geologic conditions.[3]

Effects

The maximum assigned intensity was VII (Very strong) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. Intensity VII values were assigned at several locations, including Helena, New Madrid, Mills Point, Kentucky, and parts of western Tennessee such as Brownsville, Covington, Jackson and Memphis.[4]

At Memphis, reports included cracked walls, broken windows, damaged chimneys and the collapse of at least one small structure.[6][5] At Helena, chimneys were thrown down, and at Jacksonport, Arkansas, brickwork fell from the top of a steam-mill chimney.[5] The shock was also felt at Little Rock, Arkansas, where windows and household objects rattled, but the assigned intensity was lower.[5][4]

Ground subsidence was reported near New Madrid, Missouri.[5] Subsidence associated with the earthquake formed new lakes and damaged chimneys and brick structures.[8]

Significance

The earthquake is significant as one of the larger post-1811–1812 events in the New Madrid Seismic Zone. It is also frequently cited as an example of the uncertainty involved in reconstructing pre-instrumental earthquakes in the central and eastern United States, where magnitude estimates depend heavily on written reports and intensity assignments.[2][3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "M 6.3 – Near Marked Tree, Arkansas". Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hough, Susan E. (2013). "Spatial variability of "Did You Feel It?" intensity data: insights into sampling biases in historical earthquake intensity distributions". Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 103 (5): 2767–2781. doi:10.1785/0120120285. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chung, Jaewon; Okok, Abdurraouf; Rogers, J. David (January 2021). "Geologic impacts and calculated magnitudes of historic earthquakes in the central United States". Engineering Geology. 280 105923. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2020.105923.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bakun, W. H.; Johnston, A. C.; Hopper, M. G. (2002). "Table 2. MMI for January 5, 1843 Earthquake (Marked Tree, Arkansas)" (PDF). Modified Mercalli Intensities for Some Earthquakes in Eastern North America. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hough, Susan E. (2013). "Table S1. Accounts of the 1843 Marked Tree, Arkansas, Earthquake". Electronic Supplement to Spatial Variability of Did You Feel It? Intensity Data. Seismological Society of America. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Today in Earthquake History: January 5". Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 "The New Madrid Seismic Zone". Earthquake Hazards Program. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "New Madrid Seismic Zone of Northeast Arkansas" (PDF). Arkansas Geological Survey. December 8, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2026.

Further reading

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