The Earthquakes That Made Reelfoot Lake: Story and Facts

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The Earthquakes That Made Reelfoot Lake is a Tennessee story with a documented core at Reelfoot Lake (Reelfoot Lake State Park, Tiptonville), Lake County. The sources are named below.

HistoryKind of story
5Named sources
Memphis & West TennesseeRegion
Oct 30Checked, 2026

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A story with a documented core.

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The Earthquakes That Made Reelfoot Lake

People say that in the winter of 1811 and 1812, earthquakes shook the Mississippi valley so hard that the river seemed to run backward and the land sank. In northwest Tennessee, the ground dropped and water filled the low place. Cypress trees stood in the new water, and Reelfoot Lake is still there today.

What The Record Shows

The U.S. Geological Survey page "Summary of 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Sequence" (October 2, 2019) documents three principal shocks: about M7.5 on December 16, 1811 in northeast Arkansas, M7.3 on January 23, 1812 in Missouri, and M7.5 on February 7, 1812 along the Reelfoot fault in Missouri and Tennessee. It says there were no seismographs then, so magnitudes are estimates drawn from journals and newspapers. It says Reelfoot Lake is a notable area of subsidence from the February 7, 1812 earthquake, on the downdropped side of the Reelfoot scarp, with subsidence of 1.5 to 6 meters. The Tennessee Encyclopedia entry "Earthquakes, 1811-12" by Allen R. Coggins says the eighteen-thousand-acre lake "was either formed or enlarged" in the earthquake episode, and its entry on the state park by Carroll Van West says the quakes probably enlarged a series of oxbow lakes that formed long before. The Tennessee State Parks page "Reelfoot Lake Highlights" says the 1811-1812 earthquakes caused the Mississippi River to flow backward and the land to sink, creating the lake, and gives about 15,000 acres; the Tennessee Encyclopedia says 18,000 acres. So the sources agree the earthquakes shaped the lake, but disagree on whether they created it or enlarged earlier lakes and on its acreage. The 'river ran backward' detail is stated by the state parks page; the USGS summary page we read does not use that wording.

Sources

A Note

The sources differ on whether the earthquakes made the lake or enlarged an older one, and on its acreage. Both numbers are shown where they appear.

Its home: Reelfoot Lake State Park. Official page.

On this site: Reelfoot Lake State Park, Memphis and West Tennessee Events.

Looked for and Not Found

We found no claim for this story that we could not trace to a named source.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the story of the Earthquakes That Made Reelfoot Lake true?

The U.S.

Is this a legend?

It is a story with a documented core. The facts are listed on this page with their sources.

Where do these facts come from?

From the named sources listed on this page: Summary of 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Sequence (U.S. Geological Survey, October 2, 2019); Earthquakes, 1811-12, by Allen R. Coggins (Tennessee Encyclopedia); Reelfoot Lake State Park entry (titled "Reelt Lake State Resort Park" on the page), by Carroll Van West (Tennessee Encyclopedia).

Sources

Read on October 30, 2026. Stories are for fun; the facts come from these sources. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? tell us.

Cite this page: It's Tennessee, “The Earthquakes That Made Reelfoot Lake”, itstennessee.com/legends/reelfoot-lake-new-madrid-earthquakes/ (updated 2026-11-01). By the It's Tennessee editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.

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