Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near LaFayette, GA
USGS: 2 km ENE of LaFayette, Georgia
40 km (25 mi) S of Chattanooga, TN
- When
- 3:55 am EDT on 24 March 2017 ()
- Where
- 2 km (2 mi) ENE of LaFayette, GA · earthquakes near LaFayette
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Walker County, 5 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3480 days ago
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) ENE of LaFayette, GA, at 3:55 am EDT on 24 March 2017 (07:55 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Chickamauga, Trion, Fairview, Chattanooga Valley, Ringgold, Fort Oglethorpe.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 34.7102, -85.2560. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walker County, GA | 5 km (3 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Walker County |
| Catoosa County, GA | 24 km (15 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Catoosa County |
| Chattooga County, GA | 27 km (17 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Chattooga County |
| Dade County, GA | 28 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Dade County |
| Whitfield County, GA | 28 km (18 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Whitfield County |
| Gordon County, GA | 41 km (26 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Gordon County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 2 km NW of Eton, Georgia
- 1.9 0 km NW of LaFayette, Georgia
- 1.7 2 km ESE of Dalton, Georgia
- 2.0 16 km SW of Dalton, Georgia
- 2.3 3 km WSW of Trenton, Georgia
- 2.3 8 km NW of Linwood, Georgia
- 2.1 10 km ENE of Mentone, Alabama
- 2.5 5 km NNE of East Brainerd, Tennessee
- 2.1 4 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 2.4 9 km SW of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 2.3 4 km N of Ooltewah, Tennessee
- 2.0 5 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 2.5 9 km SW of Wildwood Lake, TN
- 1.5 8.3 km NE of Wildwood Lake, TN
- 2.2 5 km WSW of Chickamauga, Georgia
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.