QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Tiptonville, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Tiptonville in the 24 hours to 6:28 am CST (12:28 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Tiptonville, TN, at 9:57 am CDT on 9 March 2020 (14:57 UTC), 9.2 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri

9:57 am CDT, Mar 9, 2020 · · 9.2 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 16 kmNew Madrid County 17 kmFulton County 34 kmPemiscot County 35 kmObion County 38 kmMississippi County 46 kmDyer County 48 kmStoddard County 55 kmHickman County 57 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
9:57 am CDT on 9 March 2020 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) northwest of Tiptonville, TN · earthquakes near Tiptonville
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
9.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 16 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 2435 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Tiptonville, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: New Madrid, Portageville, Lilbourn, Ridgely.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 36.4688, -89.5563. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, TN 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County
New Madrid County, MO 17 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near New Madrid County
Fulton County, KY 34 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fulton County
Pemiscot County, MO 35 km (22 mi) SW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Obion County, TN 38 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Obion County
Mississippi County, MO 46 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mississippi County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.0 13 km E of New Madrid, Missouri
  2. 1.7 3 km WNW of Malden, Missouri
  3. 2.4 2 km W of Howardville, Missouri
  4. 1.6 1 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 2.3 southeastern Missouri
  6. 1.6 7 km N of New Madrid, Missouri
  7. 2.5 1 km SW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  8. 1.7 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  9. 2.1 2 km NE of Marston, Missouri
  10. 1.7 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  11. 1.8 6 km W of Ridgely, Tennessee
  12. 1.5 2 km NNE of Marston, Missouri
  13. 1.6 4 km E of Steele, Missouri
  14. 1.8 11 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
  15. 1.5 5 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.