Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9md
Earthquake near Sweetwater, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Sweetwater in the 24 hours to 10:31 am EST (15:31 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 29 km (18 mi) NNE, at 1:54 am EDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sweetwater
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) west-northwest of Sweetwater, TN, at 3:06 am EDT on 9 September 2022 (07:06 UTC), 20 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 15 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
68 km (42 mi) WSW of Knoxville, TN · 60 km (37 mi) NNE of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 3:06 am EDT on 9 September 2022 ()
- Where
- 15 km (10 mi) west-northwest of Sweetwater, TN · earthquakes near Sweetwater
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (md)
- Depth
- 20 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Roane County, 21 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1521 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sweetwater, 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Sweetwater, 15 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: Rockwood, Spring City, Midtown, Decatur, Kingston, Loudon.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 20 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 6,000 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 35.6740, -84.6067. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roane County, TN | 21 km (13 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Roane County |
| Meigs County, TN | 26 km (16 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Loudon County, TN | 27 km (17 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Loudon County |
| McMinn County, TN | 28 km (17 mi) | S | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Rhea County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| Monroe County, TN | 41 km (25 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 2 km SSE of Philadelphia, Tennessee
- 1.9 3 km N of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 1.8 11 km SW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.6 7 km W of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 2.0 5 km NW of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 2.0 14 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 1.8 4 km WSW of Decatur, Tennessee
- 1.6 5 km NNE of Greenback, Tennessee
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Etowah, Tennessee
- 1.8 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
- 1.9 11 km SW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.6 9 km NNW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.6 2 km E of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 2.0 0 km S of Niota, Tennessee
- 1.6 7 km SSE of Vonore, 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.