QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Leesburg, AL

No earthquake was likely felt in Leesburg in the 24 hours to 4:28 pm CST (22:28 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 222 km (138 mi) NE, at 8:04 am CDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Leesburg

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south of Leesburg, AL, at 8:58 am CST on 25 November 2017 (14:58 UTC), 5.3 km deep.

USGS: 2 km S of Leesburg, Alabama

8:58 am CST, Nov 25, 2017 · · 5.3 km deep · released about 24 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cherokee County 14 kmEtowah County 28 kmDeKalb County 34 kmCalhoun County 43 kmFloyd County 52 kmChattooga County 52 kmMarshall County 54 kmPolk County 56 kmCleburne County 58 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
8:58 am CST on 25 November 2017 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south of Leesburg, AL · earthquakes near Leesburg
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
5.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cherokee County, 14 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3272 days ago

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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Leesburg, 3 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Centre, Ballplay, Collinsville, Cedar Bluff, Hokes Bluff, Crossville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 24 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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 34.1552, -85.7652. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cherokee County, AL 14 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Cherokee County
Etowah County, AL 28 km (17 mi) WSW earthquakes near Etowah County
DeKalb County, AL 34 km (21 mi) N earthquakes near DeKalb County
Calhoun County, AL 43 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Calhoun County
Floyd County, GA 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near Floyd County
Chattooga County, GA 52 km (33 mi) NE earthquakes near Chattooga County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2 km WNW of Menlo, Georgia
  2. 2.4 2 km WNW of Menlo, Georgia
  3. 2.2 4 km SSE of Dutton, Alabama
  4. 2.2 3 km WNW of Menlo, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.