quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Colonial Heights, TN
USGS: 6 km W of Colonial Heights, Tennessee
6 km (3 mi) SSW of Kingsport, TN · 136 km (84 mi) ENE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 12:20 pm EDT on 22 June 2016 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) W of Colonial Heights, TN · earthquakes near Colonial Heights
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Washington County, 21 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3754 days ago
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) W of Colonial Heights, TN, at 12:20 pm EDT on 22 June 2016 (16:20 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Fall Branch, Kingsport, Gray, Spurgeon, Mount Carmel, Church Hill.
USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 36.4745, -82.5713. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington County, TN | 21 km (13 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Sullivan County, TN | 24 km (15 mi) | E | earthquakes near Sullivan County |
| Scott County, VA | 27 km (17 mi) | N | earthquakes near Scott County |
| Hawkins County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | W | earthquakes near Hawkins County |
| Bristol city, VA | 40 km (25 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Bristol city |
| Greene County, TN | 41 km (26 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Greene County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
25 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 5 km NE of Clinchport, Virginia
- 2.3 2 km ENE of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 2.3 8 km NNW of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 1.9 1 km SW of Fall Branch, Tennessee
- 2.2 8 km WNW of Roan Mountain, Tennessee
- 2.4 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
- 2.0 9 km NNE of Mosheim, Tennessee
- 1.6 7 km SSW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
- 2.4 9 km SSW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
- 2.8 8 km SW of Banner Hill, Tennessee
- 2.4 6 km NW of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 2.3 6 km N of Greeneville, Tennessee
- 2.5 11 km S of Tusculum, Tennessee
- 1.9 6 km ENE of Surgoinsville, Tennessee
- 1.6 8 km SSE of Banner Hill, 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
- 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.