Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2md
Earthquake near Mountain City, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Mountain City in the 24 hours to 9:14 am EST (14:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 222 km (138 mi) WSW, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Mountain City
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Mountain City, TN, at 9:35 pm EST on 29 January 2022 (02:35 UTC), 4.2 km deep. 15 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km ENE of Mountain City, Tennessee
- When
- 9:35 pm EST on 29 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Mountain City, TN · earthquakes near Mountain City
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (md)
- Depth
- 4.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 15 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Johnson County, 14 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1671 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Mountain City, TN
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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 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Mountain City, 8 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: West Jefferson, Jefferson.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 56 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 270,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 190,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 17× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 56 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 36.5045, -81.7227. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson County, TN | 14 km (8 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Johnson County |
| Ashe County, NC | 21 km (13 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Ashe County |
| Watauga County, NC | 30 km (19 mi) | S | earthquakes near Watauga County |
| Washington County, VA | 34 km (21 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Washington County |
| Bristol city, VA | 41 km (25 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Bristol city |
| Smyth County, VA | 41 km (25 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Smyth County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 16 km E of Jefferson, North Carolina
- 2.2 8 km WNW of Roan Mountain, Tennessee
- 1.8 9 km SSE of West Jefferson, North Carolina
- 2.1 5 km NNE of Blowing Rock, 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
- 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.