QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Vonore, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Vonore in the 24 hours to 9:10 am EST (14:10 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 8 km (5 mi) NW, at 6:50 am EDT on 12 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vonore

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southeast of Vonore, TN, at 11:54 pm EST on 28 January 2018 (04:54 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee

50 km (31 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

11:54 pm EST, Jan 28, 2018 · · 18 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monroe County 15 kmLoudon County 20 kmBlount County 29 kmMcMinn County 40 kmRoane County 41 kmGraham County 43 kmCherokee County 51 kmKnox County 53 kmMeigs County 55 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
11:54 pm EST on 28 January 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southeast of Vonore, TN · earthquakes near Vonore
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monroe County, 15 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3208 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Vonore, 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: Greenback, Tellico Village, Madisonville, Loudon, Sweetwater, Lenoir City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 35.5755, -84.2152. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monroe County, TN 15 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Monroe County
Loudon County, TN 20 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loudon County
Blount County, TN 29 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Blount County
McMinn County, TN 40 km (25 mi) WSW earthquakes near McMinn County
Roane County, TN 41 km (26 mi) NW earthquakes near Roane County
Graham County, NC 43 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Graham 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.

  1. 2.4 2 km SSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  2. 2.3 0 km WSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  3. 1.7 2 km NE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  4. 2.1 2 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  5. 2.2 2 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  6. 2.3 1 km E of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  7. 1.7 3 km S of Huntsville, Tennessee
  8. 2.3 2 km NE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  9. 2.2 9 km SSE of Coalfield, Tennessee
  10. 1.7 1 km N of Huntsville, Tennessee
  11. 2.7 2 km NE of Maryville, Tennessee
  12. 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  13. 2.8 13 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
  14. 2.2 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  15. 2.1 2 km SSE of Englewood, 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.