Just after 2:00am on the night of Dec. 16, 1811 an earthquake rolled through the Cherokee Nation and the state of Georgia. Although the epicenter of the quake was in southeast Missouri, the nation's largest ever earthquake shook the entire state, ranging from 300 to 600 miles from the fault. People as far away as Quebec, Canada felt the shock wave that was so powerful that the mighty Mississippi River flowed backwards for three days. Additional earthquakes struck through February 7, 1812.