Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Chattanooga, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Chattanooga in the 24 hours to 12:36 pm EST (17:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 27 km (17 mi) SSW, at 8:18 pm EDT on 16 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Chattanooga
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) south of Chattanooga, TN, at 3:21 am EST on 18 February 2016 (08:21 UTC), 5.4 km deep.
USGS: 9 km WNW of Linwood, Georgia
37 km (23 mi) SSW of Chattanooga, TN
- When
- 3:21 am EST on 18 February 2016 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) south of Chattanooga, TN · earthquakes near Chattanooga
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 5.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Walker County, 7 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3851 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Chattanooga, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Chattanooga, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Chattanooga, 34 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: LaFayette, Chickamauga, Trenton, Chattanooga Valley, Trion, Fairview.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 34.7472, -85.3797. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walker County, GA | 7 km (4 mi) | E | earthquakes near Walker County |
| Dade County, GA | 16 km (10 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Dade County |
| Catoosa County, GA | 28 km (17 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Catoosa County |
| Chattooga County, GA | 31 km (19 mi) | S | earthquakes near Chattooga County |
| Whitfield County, GA | 38 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Whitfield County |
| Marion County, TN | 47 km (29 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Marion County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 2 km WSW of Indian Springs, Georgia
- 2.5 5 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 2.7 6 km WSW of Chickamauga, Georgia
- 2.2 3 km WNW of Menlo, Georgia
- 2.1 6 km E of Trion, Georgia
- 1.6 5 km WNW of Varnell, Georgia
- 1.9 5 km NW of Varnell, Georgia
- 2.4 1 km S of LaFayette, Georgia
- 2.4 7 km NE of Dalton, Georgia
- 2.4 Tennessee
- 2.4 6 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 2.2 6 km W of Cohutta, Georgia
- 2.3 3 km W of Trenton, Georgia
- 1.9 4 km N of Plainville, Georgia
- 2.7 3 km N of Plainville, Georgia
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.