The New Madrid Fault Line Lies in the Middle of North America The notion that we've only recently begun to grasp the true extent and significance of the New Madrid Fault Line is a myth waiting to be debunked.
For over two decades, researchers have been warning about the seismic threat posed by this massive fault system, which spans parts of five states in the central United States.
Since the 1980s, scientists have incrementally refined our understanding of the New Madrid Fault Line through numerous studies that mapped its extent, analyzed its seismic history, and modeled potential impact scenarios.