“A Whole Lot of Shaking Going On” by Sue Barker

California isn’t the only state to experience earthquakes. During the winter of 1811/1812, three major quakes struck near New Madrid in the Missouri Bootheel. One of the quakes caused the Mississippi to run backwards. While those quakes were bad, some geologists suspect the little-known Wabash Valley fault could pose an even greater danger to Illinois. We’ll briefly cover major geologic events that have shaped southern Illinois, what causes earthquakes, and why we still can’t predict them!