Northern Extension of the Tennessee Reelfoot Scarp Into Kentucky and Missouri

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Abstract
The Reelfoot scarp in northwestern Tennessee is the surface expression of an east-verging fault propagation fold that overlies a southwest-dipping reverse fault. This fault is responsible for much of the current New Madrid seismicity and was probably the origin of the February 7, 1812, M 8.0 earthquake. Tectonic scarps in the Kentucky bend of the Mississippi River and at New Madrid, Missouri, appear to be a northwestern continuation of the Reelfoot scarp. Cores collected across the scarp in Kentucky where the topographic relief is 2.2 m reveal that the structural relief on a distinct subsurface fluvial sand bed is 4 m. One kilometer to the north the topographic relief is 3 m and structural relief is 4 m. Similarly, the scarp at New Madrid, Missouri, has 2 m of topographic and structural relief. These core data are compatible with trench observations to the south where the fold structure is reflected...