Study Says Missouri Still Feeling Aftershocks from 1800’s Quakes?

There's a new study that is sending shockwaves (in a manner of speaking) through the geological world. It claims that Missouri is still feeling aftershocks from the historic New Madrid quakes in the early 1800's more than 200 years later.

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I saw Study Finds share this remarkable new viewpoint into the possibility that modern-day Missouri earthquakes are nothing more than aftershocks from the mega-quake that rocked the New Madrid Fault in 1811 and 1812.

The theory was published in a journal on Advancing Earth and Space Sciences entitled "Long-Lived Aftershocks in the New Madrid seismic Zone and the Rest of Stable North America". The entire journal entry is worth a read, but this paragraph sums up what they came up with:

Our results suggest that, depending on the size and location of the 1811–1812 New Madrid mainshocks, 10.7%–65.0% of the M ≥ 2.5 earthquakes in the New Marid region between 1980 and 2016 may be long-lived aftershocks.

They go on to say that between 11 and 65% of New Madrid, Missouri region earthquakes are shaking that began more than 200 years ago when one of the largest earthquakes in American history occurred in Missouri.

The implications are massive and could be vital to threat assessment of what the New Madrid Fault dangers could mean for Missouri going forward.

I'll put it another way. If/when you feel an earthquake in Missouri, you could be experiences the remnants of earthquake history from 1811 under your feet.