Sorry Kiowa, you mentioned this quake and the New Madrid fault in the same sentence and assumed you were talking about both as one in the same.

Dwight:
I never said that the recent quake was related to the New Madrid fault. Was just making the the point of the danger that fault will likely pose to the midwest in the recent future. There have been many archeological digs in that region, and they can isolate the time frames that a quake has struck, and it pretty much has happened on Que about every 200-300 years. Whether the fault is shutting down is only theory. These things are far from an exact science. Hopefully that IS the case, but if it's not, the country is going to be in for a major disaster in the heart of the country.

doseman95"Somehow this has to be Eric Levitt's fault"

We could name it after him (pun).

1919.....To be more precise it's "pole shift" and I tend to agree. And Zippy, the axis point in time from many prophecy's can't be ignored. Hoard knowledge if not supplies.

Somehow this has to be Eric Levitt's fault. It must have been the new ice rink falling from the sky due to fuzzy accounting. HANK...where are you? We need yuo to turn this blog into a rant!! (sorry, couldn't resist. This is the first one I read today without seeing his name)

Napalm- that is what the lady from Whitewater said- you don't know about the faults until they happen.

HC167 LOL

YIKES...Live north of Madison so felt nothing..

Napalm, I never said they were predictable, I said they happen with fair regularity in N. IL. Read the very first sentence in my response "no one knows when earthquakes are going to happen".
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Haiti is very near a PLATE BOUNDARY, Northern Illinois is NOT. There is a HUGE difference. Major earthquakes do NOT happen away from plate boundaries. The New Madrid fault is an exception because it is an ancient rift valley. The faults in Northern Illinois are NOT capable of producing a major earthquake, period. They are very short and very small faults and don't have the stress factors that major faults near plate boundaries have. the REALITY is, there will NEVER be a major earthquake in Northern Illinois, period.

Isostatic rebound (the crust moving upward after glacial retreat) is a possibility, but doesn't explain why the faults appear in N. IL and not Wisconsin or Michigan, or Minnesota, or anywhere else that was covered by the glaciers. There is talk that between isostatic rebound, and sediment deposition pushing down along the Mississippi River and in Lake Michigan is causing the land in between (Northern Illinois) to flex slightly. Definitely intriguing!

Janesvillean has offered some interesting information to the discussion. The core of the earth is also very interesting study. It would be useful to study P-waves and S-waves as part of this discussion also. This would help us to better understand the ripple waves and compression waves. Although this would lead us to look at a study of the various parts of the core of our planet.

Since this quake was not associated with a fault, I'm liking the hypothesis that it's post-glacial rebound.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-glacia...

kiowamohican - the earthquakes in N. Illinois are NOT associated with the New Madrid fault.
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You are correct that there is a chance for a major earthquake which could significantly damage St. Louis and Memphis essentially destroying the cities.
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However, there is much recent evidence that the New Madrid fault may be shutting down and may not post the threat once thought...
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/03...

This one in of itself is unlikely a "prelude to disaster," but if one seriously does not believe there will be a MAJOR earthquake along the New Madrid fault in the near future, you are ignoring all geological evidence. Evidence that has shown there has been a major quake every 200-270 years along that fault. The last one was in 1812. Luckily that area (now St Louis/Memphis) had very little development past farm land at that very early time of US infancy. Even so, the quake was so severe that large after shocks were felt for MONTHS after the massive quake itself. Felt all the way out to the East coast! The path of the Mississippi river actually change course as the ground was torn apart, and "sand geysers" became a new term from the wreckage brought on.

When the next earthquake hits there, it will be a total disaster to the country. Much of St Louis is built in the way San Fran is now, with stringent building codes for earthquakes, but Memphis is still largely a brick and mortar city (meaning total collapse of structures). Even with building "earthquake proof" it does not exactly stop catastrophe, especially with a super high magnitude quake. If a quake hits there with the magnitude of the one that did from 1812, it will be the far and away the biggest disaster this country has ever seen. Will make the Katrina disaster look like a little rain storm. If you think I am exaggerating, do some history reading about the eye witness accounts of people who were in that area in 1812. If you talk to business executives who have headquarters in that area, they are literally scared to death of a quake. NOT something you want to bring up with most! Most people don't even realize the looming danger in that area. If you tell someone that St Louis is a major Earthquake area, most will laugh at you!

br549..It makes it a lot easier for a lightweight twin size bed on rollers to move across hardwood floor like that. Especially living in a very old farm house where any movement someone makes shakes the whole house no matter where you in the house. And I would know because I live with this person and yes her bed did move!

2 words...."Magnetic Reversal"

Get a grip Napalm, no one knows when earthquakes are going to happen. Northern Illinois has earthquakes like this about once a decade or so. There are a series of ancient faults in northern Illinois that occasionally still slip, its not uncommon or unprecedented. The age and type of faults located under N. IL are not conducive to major earthquakes as they are essentially "stable" geologically. The New Madrid fault on the other hand (located near downstate Illinois) could potentially unleash a major earthquake. Fortunately that fault is far enough from here that we wouldn't see much (if any) damage.
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Most major earthquakes occur near plate boundaries, which are here there are none. We are nearly smack dab in the middle of the North American plate hence why we never see violent earthquake activity around here. The New Madrid fault is an exception because where the Mississippi River is now, and rift valley began to form millions of years ago (just as the Red Sea is today) but the crust didn't separate far enough to create a permanent lake or ocean. The New Madrid fault is where that rift formed.
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The faults in N. IL build up pressure very slowly when the North American plate flexes and releases the pressure of the flexing in small earthquakes. Because the areas of pressure are so small and the flexing of the crust is relatively minimal, earthquake risk is minimal. In regions such as California when there is an entire plate subducting under another plate, large areas of rock build up pressure relatively fast and release it in a huge jolt.
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Geology and physics are fairly simple subjects.

My bed was moving too!

But, it wasn't from the earthquake! (rimshot)

br549 She lives in a very old farm house with a lime stone foundation. I don't doubt it that she felt it! I know, I'm the one she called

Perhaps the bed has rollers and is on a hardwood floor . It makes it very easy to move. I would assume a small quake like this could quite possible make the bed move. I know mine is on a wood floor that has a very thin rug and it moves easily.
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I did not feel this quake, but I remember as a kid feeling the tremor form the Mt St. Helens eruption. I can't imagine living in California where these happen all the time.

br549, there are many factors that affect how much shaking an individual location or structure will experience. For instance, someone on an upper floor will probably see more movement than someone on a floor at ground level, where it's attached to a foundation. Soil and bedrock composition can also be considered.
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If you look at the "Did You Feel It?" map, you can see that places far from the epicenter might experience shaking almost as severe.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/d...

The Earthquake does predict the future! It's only 2012 - 2010 = 2 years from the Age of Novelty! The Mayan's predicted it and only made their calender up to 2012. To go further was pointless. The I Ching predicts it, too so it must be so. Rapture!, Armageddon!, the second coming of Christ!, all of these are the same thing! The cross verification is astonishing.
In less than two years machine elves will be projecting the new logos for time and space.
I'm stocking up on Cheerios and Space Food Sticks now so I'm ready for what will happen!!