QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Madisonville, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Madisonville in the 24 hours to 9:08 am EST (14:08 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 14 km (8 mi) NNE, at 6:50 am EDT on 12 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Madisonville

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) west of Madisonville, TN, at 7:15 am EST on 11 January 2018 (12:15 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 7 km W of Madisonville, Tennessee

68 km (42 mi) SW of Knoxville, TN · 53 km (33 mi) NE of Cleveland, TN

7:15 am EST, Jan 11, 2018 · · 13 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N McMinn County 19 kmMonroe County 19 kmLoudon County 28 kmMeigs County 34 kmRoane County 38 kmPolk County 45 kmRhea County 47 kmBlount County 51 kmCherokee County 54 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
7:15 am EST on 11 January 2018 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) west of Madisonville, TN · earthquakes near Madisonville
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
McMinn County, 19 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3226 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Madisonville, 7 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: Sweetwater, Athens, Vonore, Etowah, Tellico Village, Loudon.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 35.5080, -84.4432. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
McMinn County, TN 19 km (12 mi) WSW earthquakes near McMinn County
Monroe County, TN 19 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Monroe County
Loudon County, TN 28 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Loudon County
Meigs County, TN 34 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near Meigs County
Roane County, TN 38 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Roane County
Polk County, TN 45 km (28 mi) SSW earthquakes near Polk County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 2 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  2. 2.2 2 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  3. 2.3 1 km E of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  4. 1.7 3 km S of Huntsville, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 1 km N of Decatur, Tennessee
  6. 2.3 2 km NE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  7. 2.2 9 km SSE of Coalfield, Tennessee
  8. 1.7 1 km N of Huntsville, Tennessee
  9. 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  10. 2.8 13 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
  11. 2.2 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  12. 2.1 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  13. 2.1 12 km NNE of Decatur, TN
  14. 2.1 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  15. 1.8 10 km NNE of Decatur, 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.