Late Holocene faulting and earthquake recurrence in the Reelfoot Lake area, northwestern Tennessee

Research Article| November 01, 1979 Late Holocene faulting and earthquake recurrence in the Reelfoot Lake area, northwestern Tennessee DAVID P. RUSS DAVID P. RUSS 1U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado 80225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1979) 90 (11): 1013–1018. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1979)90<1013:LHFAER>2.0.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation DAVID P. RUSS; Late Holocene faulting and earthquake recurrence in the Reelfoot Lake area, northwestern Tennessee. GSA Bulletin 1979;; 90 (11): 1013–1018. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1979)90<1013:LHFAER>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Faults, folds, and sand dikes have been identified in late Holocene sediments exposed in an exploratory trench excavated across Reelfoot scarp in northwestern Tennessee. In excess of 3 m of vertical displacement believed to be of deep-seated origin occurs across a 0.5-m-wide zone of east-dipping normal faults near the scarp base. The zone includes the only faults of probable tectonic origin known to cut Holocene sediments in the upper Mississippi embayment. Stratigraphic and geomorphic relationships suggest, however, that little (<0.5 m) or no near-surface fault movement occurred across the zone during the high-magnitude New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812. Numerous faults having only minor displacements were mapped elsewhere in the trench. Geologic relationships between the faults and sand dikes indicate that the faults formed contemporaneously with the dikes during high-magnitude earthquakes. Crosscutting geologic features and local geomorphic history suggest that at least two periods of faulting predate sediments deposited before A.D. 1800. Thus historical data and the sediments in the trench record a history of three earthquakes near the trench site strong enough to liquefy sediments and generate faulting. Carbon-14 dates obtained on fresh-water shells indicate that the trench sediments have a maximum age of about 2,000 radiocarbon years. A recurrence interval of ∼ 600 yr or less is suggested for large earthquakes in the New Madrid area. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.