QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Tennessee

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Tennessee, 75 km (46 mi) E of Chattanooga, TN, at 9:59 pm EST on 5 March 2020 (02:59 UTC), 17 km deep.

75 km (46 mi) E of Chattanooga, TN · 40 km (25 mi) E of Cleveland, TN

· 17 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Polk County 10 kmFannin County 31 kmCherokee County 34 kmMcMinn County 37 kmBradley County 39 kmMonroe County 39 kmMurray County 46 kmGilmer County 48 kmUnion County 52 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 1.6 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Polk County, 10 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2441 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: McCaysville, Benton, Etowah.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 35.1258, -84.4322. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Polk County, TN 10 km (6 mi) W earthquakes near Polk County
Fannin County, GA 31 km (19 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fannin County
Cherokee County, NC 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Cherokee County
McMinn County, TN 37 km (23 mi) NNW earthquakes near McMinn County
Bradley County, TN 39 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near Bradley County
Monroe County, TN 39 km (25 mi) NNE earthquakes near Monroe County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 2 km WNW of Niota, Tennessee
  2. 2.2 4 km ENE of Madisonville, Tennessee
  3. 2.2 2 km NW of Eton, Georgia
  4. 1.9 8 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
  5. 2.5 7 km WSW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  6. 1.5 5 km E of Niota, Tennessee
  7. 1.9 7 km E of Benton, Tennessee
  8. 2.0 11 km NNE of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  9. 2.0 8 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
  10. 1.5 7 km ESE of Calhoun, Tennessee
  11. 1.9 3 km ESE of Etowah, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 11 km E of Benton, Tennessee
  13. 2.3 4 km ESE of East Cleveland, Tennessee
  14. 2.4 6 km WNW of Niota, Tennessee
  15. 1.9 8 km SSE of Etowah, 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.