River Project :: Mississippi River Project: Day 8

Skip to Navigation. | Skip to Main Content. | Skip to Search Form.

Mississippi River Project: Day 8

Today went well. Not having something bad happen brings smiles to our faces. The river was calm and there was little debris. Our journey went longer than usual because we entered the Kentucky bend where the Reelfoot fault crosses beneath the river. The Reelfoot fault was active during the 1811-1812 quakes and formed Reelfoot Lake. We wanted to see the fault manifested in the subsurface from our survey so we could reposition ourselves for the following day to make a second pass offset from today’s path. Running a parallel path helps us in determining the orientation of the fault (remember two points make a straight line).

Near the end of a VERY hot day, we finally imaged what we believe to be the Reelfoot fault. We are headed back to the hotel to cool off and relax!

Oh, by the way the Kentucky bend is the largest on the river measuring 21 miles. What is also interesting is that though the bend is 21 miles, the river gets within 1 mile of itself across land. The Corps of Engineers are able to make that 1 mile connection, but the people of New Madrid decided against it because of the loss to their community should that cutoff be constructed and the river diverted.

Week 1 Slideshow
Week 2 Slideshow
Week 3 Slideshow

A scientific explanation of the research

Meet the researchers

Journal Entries

Look back at Phase 1

Learn about Phase 3

Visit the University of Memphis on

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

Last Updated: 1/23/12