Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Benton, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Benton in the 24 hours to 9:46 am EST (14:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 17 km (11 mi) ENE, at 4:38 am EDT on 4 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Benton
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Benton, TN, at 12:11 am EST on 26 December 2020 (05:11 UTC), 14 km deep.
USGS: 11 km SSW of Benton, Tennessee
50 km (31 mi) E of Chattanooga, TN · 20 km (12 mi) SE of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 12:11 am EST on 26 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 12 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Benton, TN · earthquakes near Benton
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Polk County, 14 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2146 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Benton, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Benton, 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Benton, 12 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: Wildwood Lake, East Cleveland, South Cleveland, Cleveland, Hopewell.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 35.0748, -84.6942. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, TN | 14 km (9 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Bradley County, TN | 17 km (11 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Bradley County |
| Murray County, GA | 31 km (19 mi) | S | earthquakes near Murray County |
| Whitfield County, GA | 39 km (24 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Whitfield County |
| McMinn County, TN | 39 km (25 mi) | N | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Fannin County, GA | 41 km (26 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Fannin County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 6 km NW of Eton, Georgia
- 1.9 17 km SSE of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 2.1 13 km E of Benton, Tennessee
- 1.7 4 km W of Etowah, Tennessee
- 2.4 1 km SE of Etowah, Tennessee
- 2.3 8 km W of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 1.7 8 km ENE of Wildwood Lake, Tennessee
- 2.2 7 km ENE of East Cleveland, Tennessee
- 1.5 3 km N of Englewood, Tennessee
- 2.0 2 km SSE of Varnell, Georgia
- 1.8 Tennessee
- 1.9 14 km ENE of Ducktown, Tennessee
- 2.2 2 km NW of Eton, Georgia
- 2.5 7 km WSW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 2.2 4 km SSE of Lakesite, 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.