Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2md
Earthquake near Dayton, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 4:21 am EST (09:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 28 km (17 mi) ENE, at 2:34 pm EDT on 2 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dayton
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 10 km (7 mi) southeast of Dayton, TN, at 8:16 am EDT on 21 April 2019 (12:16 UTC), 8.3 km deep.
USGS: 10 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
51 km (32 mi) NE of Chattanooga, TN · 29 km (18 mi) N of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 8:16 am EDT on 21 April 2019 ()
- Where
- 10 km (7 mi) southeast of Dayton, TN · earthquakes near Dayton
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 8.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Meigs County, 12 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2738 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Dayton, TN
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This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Dayton, 10 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.
Likely felt in: Decatur 14 km, intensity II · Athens 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 62 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 240,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 15× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 62 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.
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 35.4385, -84.9190. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meigs County, TN | 12 km (8 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Rhea County, TN | 18 km (11 mi) | N | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| McMinn County, TN | 27 km (17 mi) | E | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Bledsoe County, TN | 31 km (19 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Bledsoe County |
| Bradley County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | S | earthquakes near Bradley County |
| Hamilton County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 13 km E of Benton, Tennessee
- 1.9 7 km S of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 2.8 6 km SE of Englewood, Tennessee
- 1.5 5 km ENE of Niota, Tennessee
- 3.1 4 km SSW of Crab Orchard, 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
- 1.6 5 km E of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 1.8 4 km E of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.1 10 km SE of Wildwood Lake, Tennessee
- 1.6 1 km W of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 2.5 5 km NNE of East Brainerd, Tennessee
- 1.6 11 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 2.1 7 km NNE of Benton, 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.