QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Etowah, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Etowah in the 24 hours to 6:15 am EST (11:15 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 14 km (9 mi) NW, at 6:30 am EDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Etowah

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Etowah, TN, at 11:25 pm EDT on 23 July 2022 (03:25 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 3 km ESE of Etowah, Tennessee

74 km (46 mi) ENE of Chattanooga, TN · 38 km (24 mi) ENE of Cleveland, TN

11:25 pm EDT, Jul 23, 2022 · · 14 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N McMinn County 17 kmPolk County 23 kmMonroe County 26 kmMeigs County 37 kmBradley County 38 kmCherokee County 43 kmLoudon County 50 kmFannin County 52 kmRhea County 53 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
11:25 pm EDT on 23 July 2022 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Etowah, TN · earthquakes near Etowah
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
McMinn County, 17 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1571 days ago

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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Etowah, 4 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: Athens, Benton, Madisonville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 6,200 times the energy of this one.

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 35.3118, -84.4862. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
McMinn County, TN 17 km (11 mi) NW earthquakes near McMinn County
Polk County, TN 23 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Polk County
Monroe County, TN 26 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Monroe County
Meigs County, TN 37 km (23 mi) NW earthquakes near Meigs County
Bradley County, TN 38 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Bradley County
Cherokee County, NC 43 km (27 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cherokee County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km WSW of Decatur, Tennessee
  2. 2.0 3 km ESE of Etowah, Tennessee
  3. 1.8 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  4. 1.9 11 km SW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  5. 1.6 9 km NNW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  6. 2.0 15 km ESE of Wildwood Lake, Tennessee
  7. 1.6 2 km E of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  8. 1.7 14 km E of Benton, Tennessee
  9. 2.0 13 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  10. 2.0 0 km S of Niota, Tennessee
  11. 1.6 7 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
  12. 1.5 2 km NNW of Madisonville, Tennessee
  13. 1.7 5 km E of Niota, Tennessee
  14. 2.4 7 km E of Etowah, Tennessee
  15. 2.2 7 km ENE of Niota, 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

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