QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

0 km S of Independence, Virginia

· 4.7 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Grayson County 7 kmAlleghany County 15 kmGalax city 22 kmWythe County 32 kmAshe County 37 kmCarroll County 40 kmSmyth County 42 kmWilkes County 46 kmSurry County 47 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 1.8 (md)
Depth
4.7 km below the surface
Felt
11 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Grayson County, 7 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2668 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 65× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 36.6197, -81.1528. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Grayson County, VA 7 km (4 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Grayson County
Alleghany County, NC 15 km (9 mi) N of here earthquakes near Alleghany County
Galax city, VA 22 km (14 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Galax city
Wythe County, VA 32 km (20 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Wythe County
Ashe County, NC 37 km (23 mi) ENE of here earthquakes near Ashe County
Carroll County, VA 40 km (25 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Carroll County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
  2. 2.0 8 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  3. 1.8 4 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  4. 1.6 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  5. 1.6 10 km NNW of Hays, North Carolina
  6. 1.8 10 km NNW of Hays, North Carolina
  7. 2.3 9 km N of Independence, Virginia
  8. 2.0 9 km N of Independence, Virginia
  9. 1.9 3 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
  10. 1.9 5 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
  11. 2.3 6 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
  12. 1.7 2 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
  13. 2.0 5 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  14. 1.5 Virginia-North Carolina border region
  15. 2.2 4 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina

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.