EARTHQUAKES IN ARKANSAS AND VICINITY 1699–2010 By Richard L.Dart and Scott M. Ausbrooks 2011 U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011–1118 ABSTRACT This map summarizes approximately 300 years of earthquake activity in Arkansas. It is one in a series of similar State earthquake history maps. Work on the Arkansas map was done in collaboration with the Arkansas Geological Survey. The earthquake data plotted on the map are from several sources: the Arkansas Geological Survey, the Center for Earthquake Research and Information, the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. In additon to earthquake locations, other materials presented include seismic hazard and isoseismal maps and related text. Earthquakes are a legitimate concern in Arkansas and parts of adjacent states. Arkansas has undergone a number of significant felt earthquakes since 1811. At least two of these events caused property damage: a magnitude 4.7 earthquake in 1931, and a magnitude 4.3 earthquake in 1967. The map shows all historical and instrumentally located earthquakes in Arkansas and vicinity between 1811 and 2010. The largest historic earthquake in the vicinity of the State was an intensity XI event, on December 16, 1811; the first earthquake in the New Madrid sequence. This violent event and the earthquakes that followed caused considerable damage to the then sparsely settled region. DISCLAIMERS This database, identified as OF2011–1118, has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS.Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty, expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Any use of trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also contains copyrighted material as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items for other than personal use must be secured from the copyright owner. The suggestions and illustrations included in this document are intended to improve earthquake awareness and preparedness; however, they do not guarantee the safety of an individual or structure. The contributors and sponsors of this publication do not assume any liability for any injury, death, property damage, or other effects of an earthquake. This is a product is intended to provide general seismic information only and should not be used for any other purpose. If these data are used in the compilation of other data sets or maps for distribution or publication, this source should be referenced. Neither the USGS or the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, expressed or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this product. Any use thereof for a purpose other than for which said information or product was intended shall be solely at the risk of the user. CONTENTS List of files: OF11-1118.pdf OF11-1118_data.zip 00README.txt OF11-1118.met The data include these files: ASNstations.shp Arkansas Seismic Network station locations shapefile AGSeqs_Modified.shp Arkansas Geological Survey earthquake epicenter locations shapefile MS_BogradEpies.shp Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality earthquake epicenter locations shapefile CERI.shp New Madrid Seismic Network earthquake epicenter locations shapefile NCEER.shp National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research earthquake epicenter locations shapefile PDE_ARposteronly Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (USGS/NEIC) earthquake epicenter locations shapefile 1811_12_16.shp New Madrid December 16, 1811 earthquake main shock location shapefile MMI1811comb1 New Madrid December 16, 1811 earthquake intensity raster image MMI1811comb3 Modified Mercalli intenstity data shapefile for the New Madrid December 16, 1811 earthquake 1843_1-5.shp Northeast Arkansas January 5, 1843 earthquake main shock location shapefile 1843bakan_idw Northeast Arkansas January 5, 1843 earthquake intensity raster image 1843MMI.shp Northeast Arkansas January 5, 1843 earthquake intensity locations shapefile ARmetadata.xml Metadata for this Open-File Report in XML format The database contact is: Richard Dart 303-236-8637 dart@usgs.gov U.S. Geological Survey Box 25046, Mail Stop 966 Denver, Co. 80225 INSTRUCTIONS AND DOCUMENTATION FOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OPEN-FILE REPORT 2011-1118 The database can be downloaded via the Web from http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1118/. Shapefiles may be extracted from a compressed zip file (OF11-1118_data.zip). In addition, an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file (OF11-1118.pdf) can be downloaded, from which paper copies may be printed.The map requires Adobe Acrobat for viewing. Acrobat software runs on a variety of systems, and is available for download free of charge from Adobe at: http://www.adobe.com.