Reelfoot Lake History

Reelfoot Lake is a shallow natural lake located in the northwest portion of U.S. state of Tennessee, with the coordinates of 36.3627° N, 89.4318° W. Much of it is similar a swamp, with bayou-like ditches connecting more basins, the largest of which is called Blue Basin. Reelfoot Lake is noted for its bald cypress trees and its nesting pairs of bald eagles. It is the site of Reelfoot Lake State Park.

Page 2: history, location, and how the lake was formed
Reelfoot Lake was formed when the area subsided during the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. These earthquakes resulted in several major modifications in the landforms over an extensive area, with shocks being felt as far away as Quebec, Canada.
This 15,000 acre lake was shaped by a series …show more content…
on December 16, 1811, total chaos seemed to turn the world upside down. Log cabins collapsed, animals stampeded, birds flew away en masse, trees toppled wholesale, and the Mississippi River roared as the land collapsed underneath it.
Subsidence from this quake and the following aftershocks on December 12, January 23, and February 7 reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. They also dammed up creeks, submerged a cypress forest, and in the end created Reelfoot Lake. The small settlement that once was New Madrid had been completely wiped out. The river altered its course in many ways along its mid-length. What used to be habitable was buried under water.
Tiptonville was established in 1857, but was not assimilated until 1900. It was elected the county seat when Lake County was created in 1870. Tiptonville is located at 36.3784° N, 89.4720° W, on a small rise recognized as the Tiptonville Dome and within the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The Mississippi River is to its west and north, the Kentucky Bend to the north, and Reelfoot Lake to the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.4 square miles, all …show more content…
Before 1785, not many people even lived in West Tennessee except a few surveyors. When Tennessee became a state in 1796, West Tennessee was not even a part of the state. It was still Indian country. Lake County was just virgin forest with maybe a few settlers. But, in December 1811, everything changed. In late 1811 and early 1812, a series of three earthquakes altered Lake County forever. Because of these changes, Lake County is now known for its farming and tourism. Their farms are considered to be worth more than any of the other farms in Tennessee. These farms produce more cotton per capita than any other county in the United States, and grow an appreciable amount of alfalfa, which is more than any other county in Tennessee. Farming provides abundant employment to Tiptonville as a result of the changes to the land due to the

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Related Documents: Reelfoot Lake History

Austin Peay Paper