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Open-File Report 2011-1117

Prepared in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality

Earthquakes in Mississippi and Vicinity 1811–2010

Compiled by Richard L. Dart1 and Michael B. E. Bograd2

1U.S. Geological Survey, Box 25046, MS 966, Denver, CO 80225 USA
2Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology, P.O. Box 2279, Jackson, Miss. 39225, USA

Thumbnail of cover and link to download report PDF (20 MB)

This map summarizes two centuries of earthquake activity in Mississippi. Work on the Mississippi map was done in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology. The earthquake data plotted on the map are from several sources: the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, and the Arkansas Geological Survey. In addition to earthquake locations, other materials include seismic hazard and isoseismal maps and related text.

Earthquakes are a legitimate concern in Mississippi and parts of adjacent States. Mississippi has undergone a number of felt earthquakes since 1811. At least two of these events caused property damage: a magnitude 4.7 earthquake in 1931, and a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in 1967. The map shows all historical and instrumentally located earthquakes in Mississippi and vicinity between 1811 and 2010. The largest historic earthquake in the vicinity of the State was an intensity XI event, on December 16, 1811; the first earthquake in the New Madrid sequence. This violent event and the earthquakes that followed caused considerable damage to the then sparsely settled region.

First posted June 16, 2011

For additional information contact:

USGS Geologic Hazards
Box 25046, MS-966
Denver Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225-0046

http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/

For sale by
U.S. Geological Survey Information Services,
Box 25286, Federal Center,
Denver, CO 80225;
1-888-ASK-USGS
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This report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

Dart, R.L., and Bograd, B.E., 2011, Earthquakes in Mississippi and vicinity 1811–2010: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1117, 1 sheet.


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