QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Dayton, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 10:30 am EST (15:30 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) southeast of Dayton, TN, at 8:23 am EDT on 22 April 2019 (12:23 UTC), 2.3 km deep.

USGS: 10 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee

50 km (31 mi) NE of Chattanooga, TN · 28 km (18 mi) N of Cleveland, TN

8:23 am EDT, Apr 22, 2019 · · 2.3 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Meigs County 13 kmRhea County 19 kmMcMinn County 27 kmBradley County 31 kmBledsoe County 32 kmHamilton County 39 kmSequatchie County 45 kmPolk County 50 kmVan Buren County 57 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
8:23 am EDT on 22 April 2019 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) southeast of Dayton, TN · earthquakes near Dayton
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
2.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Meigs County, 13 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2738 days ago

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 38 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Dayton, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 15 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 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 1,300 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 35.4302, -84.9208. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Meigs County, TN 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Meigs County
Rhea County, TN 19 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Rhea County
McMinn County, TN 27 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near McMinn County
Bradley County, TN 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Bradley County
Bledsoe County, TN 32 km (20 mi) NW earthquakes near Bledsoe County
Hamilton County, TN 39 km (24 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. 1.8 4 km W of Athens, Tennessee
  2. 2.0 5 km E of Riceville, Tennessee
  3. 2.1 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  4. 1.6 13 km E of Benton, Tennessee
  5. 1.9 7 km S of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  6. 2.8 6 km SE of Englewood, Tennessee
  7. 1.5 5 km ENE of Niota, Tennessee
  8. 3.1 4 km SSW of Crab Orchard, Tennessee
  9. 2.1 6 km NNW of Calhoun, Tennessee
  10. 1.8 5 km ENE of Lakesite, Tennessee
  11. 2.1 9 km ENE of Dayton, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 4 km E of Niota, Tennessee
  13. 2.1 10 km SE of Wildwood Lake, Tennessee
  14. 1.6 1 km W of Madisonville, Tennessee
  15. 2.5 5 km NNE of East Brainerd, 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.