Earthquakes New Madrid Seismic Zone

Earthquakes

The Natural State has felt its fair share of earthquakes. In 1811-1812 a series of powerful earthquakes measuring over magnitude 7.5 rattled the residents of northeast Arkansas. Cabins collapsed, people were frightened, and the land surface was severely changed by liquefaction. These earthquakes happened in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), an active fault system that extends from Cairo, Illinois to Marked Tree, Arkansas. The earthquake zone has been active for hundreds of years. What if another series of major earthquakes were to strike this region again? Would your business or family be prepared?

The Arkansas Geological Survey generates seismicity maps based on data provided by the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis, the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Saint Louis University, the United States Geological Survey, and the Arkansas Center for Earthquake Education and Technology Transfer at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

Recent Earthquake Activity Near Bull Shoals Lake, AR PDF (9.87 MB)

Recent and Historic Earthquakes in the Central Portion of the Fayetteville Shale Gas Play in North-Central Arkansas PDF (9.72 MB)

Arkansas Seismicity Map PDF (6.08 MB). This map illustrates the location and magnitude of reported earthquakes that have occurred in Arkansas from 1699 to 2023.

Earthquake feature recognition workshop/field trip II

Earthquake Awareness month, new USGS earthquake hazard map, NEHRP updates, and more…


Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) recent earthquake map of central and eastern U.S.

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Up-to-date USGS Map for all earthquakes in AR for the past 7 days

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Search the USGS Earthquake Catalog

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Arkansas Earthquake Archive 1699 - 2021

This earthquake archive list was made from a selection of seismic events that have occurred from 1699 to present in Arkansas. The seismic data have been cited from publications of the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI) at the University of Memphis, the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Saint Louis University, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the Eastern Section of the Seismological Society of America and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. We extend our appreciation to John David McFarland (Arkansas Geological Survey) for compiling the original earthquake database.

Excel Arkansas Earthquake Archive 1699 - 2021

Scheduling A Guest Speaker

The Arkansas Geological Survey is committed to educating the public about earthquake issues in Arkansas. We have presented Earthquake: 101 lectures to school classes, emergency management, and many community organizations. Please contact the Arkansas Geological Survey if you are interested in scheduling a guest speaker.

Earthquake Activities

Slinky Demonstrations
IRIS Instructional Resources
FEMA for kids
USGS for Kids
Classroom Activities
Arkansas Earthquake Geocache