Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Graysville, TN
USGS: 8 km WNW of Graysville, Tennessee
46 km (29 mi) N of Chattanooga, TN · 43 km (26 mi) NW of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 12:24 am EST on 18 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) WNW of Graysville, TN · earthquakes near Graysville
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Bledsoe County, 13 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3180 days ago
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) WNW of Graysville, TN, at 12:24 am EST on 18 January 2018 (05:24 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sale Creek, Dayton, Pikeville, Mowbray Mountain, Dunlap, Soddy-Daisy.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 35.4770, -85.1680. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bledsoe County, TN | 13 km (8 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Bledsoe County |
| Rhea County, TN | 24 km (15 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| Sequatchie County, TN | 25 km (15 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Sequatchie County |
| Meigs County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | E | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Hamilton County, TN | 35 km (22 mi) | S | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
| Van Buren County, TN | 36 km (22 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Van Buren County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
44 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 4 km W of Athens, Tennessee
- 2.0 5 km E of Riceville, Tennessee
- 2.3 11 km ESE of McMinnville, Tennessee
- 2.1 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.3 4 km ESE of Powells Crossroads, Tennessee
- 2.1 6 km NNW of Calhoun, Tennessee
- 1.8 5 km ENE of Lakesite, Tennessee
- 2.1 9 km ENE of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.5 5 km NNE of East Brainerd, Tennessee
- 1.9 11 km SSW of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.3 4 km N of Ooltewah, Tennessee
- 2.2 7 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.3 4 km NNW of Flat Top Mountain, Tennessee
- 1.6 11 km SW of Rockwood, Tennessee
- 2.3 12 km SW of Rockwood, 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.