Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Athens, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Athens in the 24 hours to 4:16 am EST (09:16 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 7 km (4 mi) SW, at 6:30 am EDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Athens
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Athens, TN, at 12:50 am EST on 16 January 2020 (05:50 UTC), 16 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
81 km (50 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN · 50 km (31 mi) ENE of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 12:50 am EST on 16 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) east-southeast of Athens, TN · earthquakes near Athens
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Monroe County, 16 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2486 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Athens, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Athens, TN. 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 2 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Athens, 26 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: Etowah, Madisonville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 8,800 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 35.3227, -84.3472. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, TN | 16 km (10 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
| McMinn County, TN | 27 km (17 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Polk County, TN | 30 km (18 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Cherokee County, NC | 33 km (21 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Cherokee County |
| Loudon County, TN | 46 km (29 mi) | N | earthquakes near Loudon County |
| Graham County, NC | 47 km (29 mi) | E | earthquakes near Graham County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 14 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 2.8 6 km SE of Englewood, Tennessee
- 1.5 5 km ENE of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.0 3 km SSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.1 6 km NNW of Calhoun, Tennessee
- 2.0 6 km S of Friendsville, Tennessee
- 1.7 5 km S of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.9 13 km NE of Ducktown, Tennessee
- 1.6 5 km E of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 1.8 4 km E of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.1 10 km SE of Wildwood Lake, Tennessee
- 1.9 Tennessee
- 1.6 1 km W of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 1.7 5 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 1.5 15 km ENE of Tellico Plains, 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
- 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.