Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5md
Earthquake near Dunlap, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Dunlap in the 24 hours to 6:29 am CST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 23 km (14 mi) NW, at 7:54 am CST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dunlap
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) north-northeast of Dunlap, TN, at 11:02 am CDT on 14 March 2018 (16:02 UTC), 5.8 km deep.
USGS: 14 km NNE of Dunlap, Tennessee
47 km (29 mi) N of Chattanooga, TN
- When
- 11:02 am CDT on 14 March 2018 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) north-northeast of Dunlap, TN · earthquakes near Dunlap
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (md)
- Depth
- 5.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Sequatchie County, 15 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3163 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Dunlap, TN
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 Dunlap, 14 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: Pikeville, Graysville, Sale Creek, Mowbray Mountain, Dayton, Soddy-Daisy.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.6 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 35.4832, -85.3105. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequatchie County, TN | 15 km (9 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sequatchie County |
| Bledsoe County, TN | 15 km (10 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Bledsoe County |
| Van Buren County, TN | 27 km (17 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Van Buren County |
| Rhea County, TN | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| Hamilton County, TN | 37 km (23 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
| Grundy County, TN | 38 km (23 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Grundy County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 13 km NE of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee
- 2.1 7 km SSW of Dunlap, Tennessee
- 2.2 2 km W of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Dayton, Tennessee
- 1.8 6 km SW of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.2 10 km SSE of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.3 3 km S of Lone Oak, Tennessee
- 2.1 6 km NNE of Hopewell, Tennessee
- 1.6 9 km SW of Spring City, Tennessee
- 2.2 9 km NNW of Graysville, Tennessee
- 2.2 10 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
- 1.8 4 km WSW of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.6 14 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
- 2.3 13 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
- 2.1 13 km W of Graysville, 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.