One night  [this is a true story], two men were asleep near the Mississippi River.  They were awakened by a huge rumble.  They went out the tent and looked.   They saw the Mississippi River "boiling up like a cauldron of boiling water."  Trees crackled and fell into the river.  The river started to flow backwards.  It was an earthquake that caused all that mayhem.  People felt the effects 1,100 miles away.  The church bells even rang in Boston!  It was on February 7th, 1812.  It formed Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee.  It is a good fishing place.  The fish are like birds fluttering in the trees under Reelfoot Lake.  The trees [buried under the water] are like nurseries for their eggs.

You can read more here:  http://www.lakereelfoot.com/Lake_Info/History/body_history.html 

As dictated to Mommy.

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Posted by QueenoftheHill

"The fish are like birds fluttering in the trees under Reelfoot Lake."

You were really paying attention during this lesson today -- I'm so proud of you.

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Posted by TheMonkeyParade

I have always been fascinated by the story of Tennessee's only "natural" lake. It stuns me to think that the mighty Mississippi actually flowed backwards.

Great job, G.

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Posted by anotherblogonthefire

I was at Niagara Falls on Monday and we went to a place called "Whirlpool Rapids".
There was one spot where the water was "boiling up like a cauldron of boiling water" so I can kind of imagine it.

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Posted by jenmcintyre

I used to live "near" Reelfoot lake and I am still fascinated by the history of the lake. The last time I was on the lake Noah was 18 months and Emily was 7 years old. I learned that day that the trees can't start under water. The have to start growing on a dead tree. We saw lots of birds and turtles that day.

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