QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

16 km NE of Flat Lick, Kentucky

· 20 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Knox County 20 kmBell County 23 kmClay County 27 kmLeslie County 28 kmHarlan County 37 kmClaiborne County 48 kmLaurel County 48 kmWhitley County 49 kmPerry County 51 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Knox County, 20 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2911 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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.

Where

Epicentre 36.9282, -83.6317. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Knox County, KY 20 km (13 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Knox County
Bell County, KY 23 km (14 mi) N of here earthquakes near Bell County
Clay County, KY 27 km (17 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Clay County
Leslie County, KY 28 km (17 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Leslie County
Harlan County, KY 37 km (23 mi) WNW of here earthquakes near Harlan County
Claiborne County, TN 48 km (30 mi) N of here earthquakes near Claiborne County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 5 km ESE of Pineville, Kentucky
  2. 2.6 11 km SW of Middlesboro, Kentucky
  3. 2.5 9 km NE of Flat Lick, Kentucky
  4. 2.4 5 km ENE of Harrogate, Tennessee
  5. 2.7 18 km SSE of Hyden, Kentucky
  6. 2.0 8 km SW of Cawood, Kentucky
  7. 2.3 4 km E of Harrogate, Tennessee
  8. 2.2 12 km SW of Pathfork, Kentucky
  9. 2.2 10 km WSW of Hyden, Kentucky
  10. 2.0 1 km SSW of Cawood, Kentucky
  11. 2.4 3 km W of Artemus, Kentucky
  12. 2.3 4 km W of Evarts, Kentucky
  13. 2.5 10 km NNW of North Corbin, Kentucky
  14. 2.6 5 km ENE of Pleasant View, Kentucky

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.