Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Cherokee, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Cherokee in the 24 hours to 5:40 pm EST (22:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 20 km (13 mi) S, at 11:05 pm EDT on 4 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cherokee
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Cherokee, NC, at 8:14 pm EDT on 7 September 2019 (00:14 UTC), 5.7 km deep.
USGS: 7 km WNW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
85 km (53 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 8:14 pm EDT on 7 September 2019 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) south of Cherokee, NC · earthquakes near Cherokee
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 5.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Jackson County, 22 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2620 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cherokee, NC
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cherokee, NC. No account or email needed.
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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Cherokee, 8 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: Sylva, Bryson City, Cullowhee, Franklin, Maggie Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 35.3995, -83.3285. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, NC | 22 km (14 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Swain County, NC | 23 km (14 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Swain County |
| Macon County, NC | 29 km (18 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Macon County |
| Haywood County, NC | 36 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Graham County, NC | 46 km (29 mi) | W | earthquakes near Graham County |
| Sevier County, TN | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Sevier County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.7 5 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.7 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.9 7 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.7 10 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.0 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.7 12 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.2 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.5 7 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.8 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.1 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.0 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.2 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.1 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.4 7 km W of Rosman, 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
- 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.