QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

3 km SSW of Morristown, Tennessee

· 4.8 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hamblen County 5 kmJefferson County 20 kmGrainger County 20 kmCocke County 35 kmHancock County 38 kmGreene County 42 kmHawkins County 45 kmClaiborne County 47 kmUnion County 48 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
4.8 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Hamblen County, 5 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1517 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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.

Where

Epicentre 36.1890, -83.3103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Hamblen County, TN 5 km (3 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Hamblen County
Jefferson County, TN 20 km (12 mi) NE of here earthquakes near Jefferson County
Grainger County, TN 20 km (13 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Grainger County
Cocke County, TN 35 km (22 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Cocke County
Hancock County, TN 38 km (23 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Hancock County
Greene County, TN 42 km (26 mi) W of here earthquakes near Greene County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 5 km ENE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  2. 2.1 7 km NNW of New Market, Tennessee
  3. 1.8 6 km NW of Mascot, Tennessee
  4. 2.0 3 km ENE of Mosheim, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 5 km WNW of Sevierville, Tennessee
  6. 2.2 5 km W of Sevierville, Tennessee
  7. 2.2 5 km NNW of Greeneville, Tennessee
  8. 2.6 2 km SSE of Mascot, Tennessee
  9. 3.0 7 km SW of New Tazewell, Tennessee
  10. 2.4 7 km SW of Mascot, Tennessee
  11. 3.4 7 km NE of Maynardville, Tennessee
  12. 2.0 8 km SE of Rutledge, Tennessee
  13. 2.2 1 km SSW of Morristown, Tennessee
  14. 2.5 3 km E of Rutledge, Tennessee
  15. 2.5 3 km E of Rutledge, 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.