Myron L. Fuller

From the New Madrid Earthquake “to read” list, this is really two books bound together; The New Madrid Earthquake, a 2001 reprint of a 1966 reprint of a 1912 bulletin of the Missouri Geological Survey; and Geography and Geology of the Southeast Missouri Lowlands, a 1958 publication.


The 1912 work is of historical interest for the quaint style. It’s mostly a compendium of eyewitness accounts, plus some examination of the geology as seen 100 years after the event. Since not very much was known about earthquake causes in 1912, author Myron Fuller collected all the data he could, whether it fits in with modern seismological theories or not. Thus we get an account of the weather throughout the earthquake swarm, the “direction of the vibrations”, phases of the moon, barometric pressure, time of day, and so on, along with discussion of sand blows, sinking islands, earth fissures, and the usual more earthquake related stuff. It would be interesting to visit the area.


I found the second work interesting mostly for the account of the ancient channels of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. This must have been author Arthur Magill’s specialty, since there’s pages of maps detailing the stream capture and channel cutting events that led to the current river layout. Things like this are good reading for those who imagine that there’s a “balance of nature” and that Old Man River has been there forever.… (más)