Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Tiptonville, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Tiptonville in the 24 hours to 8:42 am CST (14:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) SW, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tiptonville
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west-northwest of Tiptonville, TN, at 8:59 am CDT on 15 August 2017 (13:59 UTC), 8.9 km deep. 7 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km WNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- When
- 8:59 am CDT on 15 August 2017 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) west-northwest of Tiptonville, TN · earthquakes near Tiptonville
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 7 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Lake County, 8 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1557 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tiptonville, TN
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 64 km (40 mi) from the epicentre. In Tiptonville, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Tiptonville 5 km, intensity III · Portageville 16 km, intensity III · New Madrid 22 km, intensity III · Caruthersville 25 km, intensity III · Dyersburg 42 km, intensity II · Malden 43 km, intensity II · Steele 44 km, intensity II · East Prairie 45 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 36.3928, -89.5302. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, TN | 8 km (5 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| New Madrid County, MO | 25 km (16 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near New Madrid County |
| Pemiscot County, MO | 31 km (19 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Obion County, TN | 34 km (21 mi) | E | earthquakes near Obion County |
| Fulton County, KY | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fulton County |
| Dyer County, TN | 39 km (25 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Dyer County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 5 km E of Steele, Missouri
- 1.7 11 km WNW of Newbern, Tennessee
- 1.7 0 km WNW of Howardville, Missouri
- 2.4 3 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.5 0 km NNW of Howardville, Missouri
- 2.1 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.5 2 km WNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.9 9 km NNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 2.3 5 km WNW of Marston, Missouri
- 2.3 5 km WSW of Pinhook, Missouri
- 1.6 6 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.6 7 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.8 7 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.5 7 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 2.3 7 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.