2 more quakes near Reelfoot Lake Monday after flurry of tremors in April

Two earthquakes were felt in Lake County, Tennessee on Monday, following more than a dozen minor tremors over the past few weeks.

Monday's first quake was detected at 12:45 p.m. two miles southeast of the town of Ridgley with a reported magnitude of 2.9. More than three dozen people checked in at the U.S. Geological Survey website to say they felt the tremor.

The second quake of the day was centered less than a mile from the earlier quake, with a magnitude of 2.4.

The USGS seismograph in Memphis has recorded 16 tremors since April 10, mostly surrounding Ridgley.

A cluster of four tremors south of the community on April 10 and 11 ranged in intensity from 1.3 to 1.4.

Last week, eight more quakes took place. Four happened on Friday within a three-mile line at Ridgley, measuring 1.6, 1.7, 2.1 and 2.2 on the Richter Scale.

On Saturday, another 2.0 tremor occured at Ridgley. Also on Saturday, a 2.2 tremor was measured just north of Tiptonville.


The New Madrid Fault is a major seismic zone that encompasses parts of five states, from Cairo, Illinois through Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee to Arkansas. The zone is most famous for containing four of the largest quakes in recorded history in North America. The 7.0 and stronger quakes in 1811 and 1812 destroyed the town of New Madrid and famously rang bells in Boston, while the waters of the Mississippi River were said to flow backwards, and Reelfoot Lake was formed.

The largest quake since then was a 6.6 on Halloween 1895 centered in Charleston, Missouri. The strongest of the 20th century was a 5.5 near Dale, Illinois in 1968.

The current network of seismic sensors was not installed until 1974. Since then, more than 4,000 tremors have been recorded, the vast majority too small to be felt.




(Map showing quake activity from April 10-29 created on April 29, 2023 by USGS.gov)