When one thinks of earthquakes, the Mississippi river valley (MRV), does not
frequently come to mind. One usually thinks of one of California's numerous faults or
somewhere in Alaska. However, little known to the general public, there were two
massive earthquakes in the MRV, which rank among the top three in the contiguous
United States and in the top ten for the entire United States (http://wwwneic.
cr.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/bigten.lis). Starting in the early morning hours of December 16,
1811 a violent shaking of the earth began, which continued on for three months,
producing two of t…
