Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Tennessee-North Carolina border region
Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded in the Tennessee-North Carolina border region, 82 km (51 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN, at 3:08 pm EDT on 9 September 2019 (19:08 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
82 km (51 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 0.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Swain County, 20 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2538 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 23 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Cherokee, Bryson City, Sylva, Cullowhee, Maggie Valley, Franklin.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 26 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 580,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 410,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 36× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 26 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 35.4253, -83.3323. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swain County, NC | 20 km (12 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Swain County |
| Jackson County, NC | 24 km (15 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Macon County, NC | 31 km (19 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Macon County |
| Haywood County, NC | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Sevier County, TN | 44 km (27 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Sevier County |
| Graham County, NC | 46 km (29 mi) | W | earthquakes near Graham County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 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
- 1.8 9 km SW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
- 2.0 6 km SSW of Dillsboro, 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.