QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

0 km SSE of Spruce Pine, North Carolina

· 2.6 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mitchell County 15 kmYancey County 22 kmAvery County 22 kmMcDowell County 25 kmBurke County 37 kmUnicoi County 39 kmCarter County 42 kmWatauga County 48 kmCaldwell County 50 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 2.0 (md)
Depth
2.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mitchell County, 15 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2240 days ago

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

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 35.9080, -82.0605. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Mitchell County, NC 15 km (9 mi) SE of here earthquakes near Mitchell County
Yancey County, NC 22 km (14 mi) E of here earthquakes near Yancey County
Avery County, NC 22 km (14 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Avery County
McDowell County, NC 25 km (16 mi) N of here earthquakes near McDowell County
Burke County, NC 37 km (23 mi) WNW of here earthquakes near Burke County
Unicoi County, TN 39 km (24 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Unicoi County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
  2. 1.7 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
  3. 1.9 8 km E of Weaverville, North Carolina
  4. 1.7 6 km WSW of Newland, North Carolina
  5. 2.1 3 km NW of Marion, North Carolina
  6. 2.2 3 km NNW of Marion, North Carolina
  7. 1.8 8 km W of Bakersville, North Carolina
  8. 2.2 8 km WNW of Roan Mountain, Tennessee
  9. 1.8 12 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
  10. 2.0 7 km N of Spruce Pine, North Carolina
  11. 2.1 5 km NNE of Blowing Rock, North Carolina
  12. 1.8 5 km NNW of Weaverville, North Carolina
  13. 1.9 5 km N of Weaverville, North Carolina
  14. 1.8 9 km E of Bakersville, North Carolina
  15. 2.6 6 km N of Morganton, North Carolina

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.