QuakeIndex

Earthquakes in North Carolina

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The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more in North Carolina was M 2.6, 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina, at 8:04 pm EDT on 23 March 2026. 852 people reported feeling it to USGS. 25 smaller earthquakes have been recorded in North Carolina since.

No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded in North Carolina in the last 24 hours.

Last 24 hours
0
Last 7 days
0
Last 30 days
0 · an average 30 days here since 2016: 2.0
Last 12 months
34 · largest M 2.6 on 23 March 2026
Since 2016
260 earthquakes of M1.5 or more
Largest since 2016
M 5.1 on 9 August 2020, 4 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina

Latest quake, 24 hours and 7 days: the QuakeIndex database, which reads USGS every 30 seconds, read at ; 30 days and 12 months: the QuakeIndex catalogue, counted to · earthquakes of M1.5 or more in North Carolina, where USGS names the state in the location

Every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours →

38

Typical QuakeIndex 38 / 100

1 quake of M1.5 or larger in the last 7 days in North Carolina. Normal for here is 1 to 3 in a week.

Compared against North Carolina's own 10 years · USGS catalogue · updated

If you felt one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.

The last 30 days

Oct 14 Oct 29 Nov 12
Each mark is a day's largest quake within range; its size is the magnitude. The shaded band is the magnitude a day's largest quake normally falls in here (M1.9–M2.3), from this place's own 10-year record. A mark above the band is a bigger day than usual.

Show these earthquakes on your own site: a free card with this strip and the latest quakes in North Carolina, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.

Live · last 7 days

Latest earthquakes in North Carolina

None in North Carolina in the latest snapshot we hold; the full 7 days load from USGS as this page opens.

Source USGS · snapshot of

The last 7 days on the map

The map loads when it scrolls into view.
Every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 7 days, from the USGS feed. Colour and size are magnitude; tap one for its page.

Open the full map — zoom anywhere, or find your own location →

Largest on record in and around North Carolina

MagnitudeWhenWhere
M 5.1 4 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
M 4.1 21 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
M 3.8 2 km NE of Fincastle, Tennessee
M 3.6 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
M 3.5 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
M 3.4 6 km E of Elgin, South Carolina
M 3.4 7 km NE of Maynardville, Tennessee
M 3.3 5 km SSW of Lugoff, South Carolina

From the QuakeIndex catalogue, built from the USGS FDSN event service · inside a rectangle drawn around North Carolina, which takes in some ground over its borders.

Before 2016: the largest in North Carolina since 1900

The USGS record from 1900 to 2015 lists one earthquake of M5 or more in and just off North Carolina:

  1. 5.2 Near Asheville, North Carolina

USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015, each epicentre counted for the state whose nearest county it is. Epicentres of early earthquakes are estimates. This is the record, not a forecast.

The most active counties in North Carolina

CountyM1.5+ in 10 yearsThis week
Swain County 578 Typical (60)
Clay County 499 Typical (68)
Macon County 409 Typical (71)
Haywood County 284 Elevated (75)
Jackson County 243 Elevated (80)
Madison County 212 Elevated (79)
Buncombe County 137 Quiet (0)
Wilkes County 132 Too quiet to score
Alexander County 130 Too quiet to score

Counted within each county page's own radius from the QuakeIndex catalogue (USGS, M1.5+, ten years).

Towns in North Carolina with the most earthquakes named after them

Sparta 6 M2.5+ named after it · Asheville 4 M2.5+ named after it

Each town page lists every M1.5+ earthquake within 30 km since 2016 and the ones USGS named after it. Town names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).

Counties in North Carolina

Be ready

Earthquakes cannot be predicted, here or anywhere, so the useful step is the one taken beforehand. The advice below is from the agencies responsible for it.