Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Oak Ridge, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Oak Ridge in the 24 hours to 5:12 am EST (10:12 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 19 km (12 mi) SSW, at 1:54 am EDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oak Ridge
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Oak Ridge, TN, at 8:10 pm EDT on 26 May 2020 (00:10 UTC), 5.5 km deep.
USGS: 8 km WSW of Petros, Tennessee
52 km (32 mi) W of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 8:10 pm EDT on 26 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Oak Ridge, TN · earthquakes near Oak Ridge
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 5.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Morgan County, 14 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2359 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oak Ridge, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oak Ridge, 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Oak Ridge, 23 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: Coalfield, Harriman, Oliver Springs, Kingston, Midtown, Rockwood.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 36.0578, -84.5195. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, TN | 14 km (9 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Morgan County |
| Roane County, TN | 23 km (15 mi) | S | earthquakes near Roane County |
| Anderson County, TN | 30 km (19 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Anderson County |
| Loudon County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Loudon County |
| Scott County, TN | 41 km (26 mi) | N | earthquakes near Scott County |
| Cumberland County, TN | 44 km (28 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Cumberland County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
31 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 9 km W of Clinton, Tennessee
- 2.1 6 km WSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.2 1 km S of Garland, Tennessee
- 1.8 4 km SSW of Loudon, Tennessee
- 2.5 9 km WSW of Oakdale, Tennessee
- 1.8 6 km NNW of Farragut, Tennessee
- 2.5 2 km N of Farragut, Tennessee
- 1.5 6 km NNW of Philadelphia, Tennessee
- 1.8 6 km NNE of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- 1.9 15 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 2.1 1 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 1.9 6 km NW of Lenoir City, Tennessee
- 2.6 9 km ENE of Garland, Tennessee
- 1.6 2 km ENE of Loudon, Tennessee
- 2.4 7 km NNE of Garland, 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.