Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Johnson City, TN
USGS: 6 km W of Crossnore, North Carolina
49 km (31 mi) SE of Johnson City, TN · 139 km (86 mi) NW of Charlotte, NC
- When
- 6:01 pm EDT on 21 July 2016 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) SE of Johnson City, TN · earthquakes near Johnson City
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 0.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Avery County, 8 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3724 days ago
A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) SE of Johnson City, TN, at 6:01 pm EDT on 21 July 2016 (22:01 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Spruce Pine, Banner Elk, Roan Mountain, Foscoe.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 20 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 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 36.0272, -81.9965. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avery County, NC | 8 km (5 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Avery County |
| Mitchell County, NC | 15 km (9 mi) | W | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Carter County, TN | 31 km (19 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Carter County |
| Yancey County, NC | 32 km (20 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Yancey County |
| Watauga County, NC | 35 km (22 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Watauga County |
| McDowell County, NC | 39 km (24 mi) | S | earthquakes near McDowell County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Newland, North Carolina
- 2.1 3 km NW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.2 3 km NNW of Marion, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km W of Bakersville, North Carolina
- 2.2 13 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
- 2.2 8 km WNW of Roan Mountain, Tennessee
- 1.8 12 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km N of Spruce Pine, North Carolina
- 2.1 5 km NNE of Blowing Rock, North Carolina
- 1.8 9 km E of Bakersville, North Carolina
- 2.6 6 km N of Morganton, North Carolina
- 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
- 2.0 0 km SSE of Spruce Pine, North Carolina
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.