Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Tiptonville, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Tiptonville in the 24 hours to 8:09 am CST (14:09 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 8 km (5 mi) northwest of Tiptonville, TN, at 9:05 pm CST on 15 January 2021 (03:05 UTC), 9.0 km deep.
USGS: 8 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- When
- 9:05 pm CST on 15 January 2021 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) northwest of Tiptonville, TN · earthquakes near Tiptonville
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 9.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Lake County, 12 km SSE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 2 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 2122 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 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Tiptonville, 8 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.
Likely felt in: Tiptonville 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
- 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 36.4337, -89.5303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, TN | 12 km (7 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| New Madrid County, MO | 21 km (13 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near New Madrid County |
| Fulton County, KY | 33 km (21 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fulton County |
| Pemiscot County, MO | 34 km (21 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Obion County, TN | 35 km (22 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Obion County |
| Dyer County, TN | 44 km (27 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Dyer County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.7 5 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.7 6 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.6 3 km NNE of Cooter, Missouri
- 1.7 4 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.8 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.3 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
- 1.7 11 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.7 6 km NW of Dyersburg, Tennessee
- 1.8 2 km NNE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.6 5 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 1.8 7 km NNW of Dyersburg, Tennessee
- 1.5 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.6 5 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.6 6 km ENE of Steele, 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.