QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Apison, TN

USGS: 5 km E of Apison, Tennessee

27 km (17 mi) E of Chattanooga, TN · 19 km (12 mi) SSW of Cleveland, TN

1:53 pm EDT, May 20, 2016 · · 12 km deep · released about 51 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Apison Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bradley County 17 kmCatoosa County 21 kmWhitfield County 25 kmHamilton County 27 kmMurray County 32 kmPolk County 39 kmWalker County 45 kmDade County 53 kmMcMinn 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
1:53 pm EDT on 20 May 2016 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) E of Apison, TN · earthquakes near Apison
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bradley County, 17 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3782 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) E of Apison, TN, at 1:53 pm EDT on 20 May 2016 (17:53 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Collegedale, South Cleveland, Wildwood Lake, Varnell, Cleveland, East Brainerd.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 51 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 210,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 51 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 35.0222, -84.9593. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bradley County, TN 17 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Bradley County
Catoosa County, GA 21 km (13 mi) SW earthquakes near Catoosa County
Whitfield County, GA 25 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Whitfield County
Hamilton County, TN 27 km (17 mi) NW earthquakes near Hamilton County
Murray County, GA 32 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Murray County
Polk County, TN 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Polk County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 7 km NE of Dalton, Georgia
  2. 2.4 Tennessee
  3. 2.3 10 km S of Etowah, Tennessee
  4. 2.3 1 km E of South Cleveland, Tennessee
  5. 2.4 6 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
  6. 2.2 6 km W of Cohutta, Georgia
  7. 2.3 10 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
  8. 2.0 11 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
  9. 2.2 10 km SE of Dayton, Tennessee
  10. 1.7 0 km E of Graysville, Tennessee
  11. 1.9 5 km N of Benton, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 Tennessee
  13. 1.9 3 km W of Dalton, Georgia
  14. 2.6 6 km SE of Chickamauga, Georgia
  15. 1.9 13 km SW of Dalton, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.