QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Cherokee, NC

USGS: 6 km S of Cherokee, North Carolina

83 km (52 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN

8:13 pm EDT, Sep 11, 2019 · · 4.7 km deep · released about 72 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cherokee Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Swain County 21 kmJackson County 23 kmMacon County 31 kmHaywood County 35 kmSevier County 45 kmGraham County 47 kmTransylvania County 51 kmClay County 56 kmCocke County 58 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
8:13 pm EDT on 11 September 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) S of Cherokee, NC · earthquakes near Cherokee
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
4.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Swain County, 21 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2578 days ago

A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) S of Cherokee, NC, at 8:13 pm EDT on 11 September 2019 (00:13 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sylva, Bryson City, Cullowhee, Maggie Valley, Franklin, Hazelwood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 72 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 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 35.4180, -83.3235. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Swain County, NC 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Swain County
Jackson County, NC 23 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 45 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sevier County
Graham County, NC 47 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

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

  1. 2.6 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  2. 1.6 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  3. 1.7 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  4. 1.9 7 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  5. 1.7 10 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  6. 2.0 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  7. 1.7 12 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  8. 2.2 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  9. 1.5 7 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  10. 1.8 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  11. 2.1 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  12. 2.0 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  13. 2.2 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  14. 2.1 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  15. 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.