Hazards

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located just East of Missouri's New Madrid Fault Zone, making it particularly prone to seismic activity. The USGS/NEIC Preliminary Determinations of Epicenters catalog recognizes seismic activity through a timeline map of the area, depicting the seven local earthquakes that have taken place since 1990. Although the New Madrid Fault Zone does not subject the Great Smoky Mountains to particularly large seismic activity, the topography of the tall peaks and steep slopes makes the area particularly susceptible to landslides in the event of even moderate seismic activity. In addition to the steep slopes, the Great Smoky Mountains receive a large amount of rainfall each year, making the surface soft in relative terms and non-resistant to erosion in the case of minuscule earthquakes.