QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

6 km SSW of Cherokee, North Carolina

· 0.8 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Swain County 19 kmJackson County 25 kmMacon County 31 kmHaywood County 36 kmSevier County 44 kmGraham County 45 kmTransylvania County 54 kmClay County 55 kmCocke County 59 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
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
0.8 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Swain County, 19 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2488 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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 35.4225, -83.3477. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Swain County, NC 19 km (12 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Swain County
Jackson County, NC 25 km (16 mi) NW of here earthquakes near Jackson County
Macon County, NC 31 km (19 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Macon County
Haywood County, NC 36 km (23 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Haywood County
Sevier County, TN 44 km (27 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Sevier County
Graham County, NC 45 km (28 mi) E of here earthquakes near Graham County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  2. 1.7 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  3. 1.7 10 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  4. 2.0 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  5. 1.7 12 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  6. 2.2 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  7. 1.8 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  8. 2.1 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  9. 2.0 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  10. 2.2 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  11. 2.1 11 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  12. 1.8 9 km SW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  13. 2.0 6 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  14. 2.5 4 km SSE of Sevierville, Tennessee
  15. 2.2 11 km SE of Townsend, 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.