QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Sparta, NC

USGS: 4 km SSW of Sparta, North Carolina

4:42 pm EDT, Aug 8, 2020 · · 1.1 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sparta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Alleghany County 3 kmGrayson County 22 kmWilkes County 28 kmGalax city 30 kmAshe County 33 kmSurry County 40 kmCarroll County 47 kmWythe County 49 kmYadkin County 54 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
4:42 pm EDT on 8 August 2020 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) SSW of Sparta, NC · earthquakes near Sparta
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
1.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Alleghany County, 3 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2245 days ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) SSW of Sparta, NC, at 4:42 pm EDT on 8 August 2020 (20:42 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Thurmond, Hays, Mulberry, Galax, Fairplains.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 36.4625, -81.1323. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Alleghany County, NC 3 km (2 mi) N earthquakes near Alleghany County
Grayson County, VA 22 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Grayson County
Wilkes County, NC 28 km (18 mi) S earthquakes near Wilkes County
Galax city, VA 30 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Galax city
Ashe County, NC 33 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Ashe County
Surry County, NC 40 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near Surry County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 5 km S of Hillsville, Virginia
  2. 1.8 9 km SSE of West Jefferson, North Carolina
  3. 2.6 Virginia-North Carolina border region
  4. 2.1 6 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  5. 1.9 2 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
  6. 2.0 8 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  7. 1.8 4 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  8. 1.6 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  9. 1.6 10 km NNW of Hays, North Carolina
  10. 1.8 10 km NNW of Hays, North Carolina
  11. 2.3 9 km N of Independence, Virginia
  12. 2.0 9 km N of Independence, Virginia
  13. 1.9 3 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
  14. 1.9 5 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
  15. 2.3 6 km SE of Sparta, 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.