QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Tennessee-North Carolina border region

82 km (51 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN

· 0.1 km deep · released about 67 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Swain County 20 kmJackson County 25 kmMacon County 33 kmHaywood County 34 kmSevier County 43 kmGraham County 47 kmTransylvania County 52 kmCocke County 56 kmClay County 58 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
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
0.1 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Swain County, 20 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3539 days ago

A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded at Tennessee-North Carolina border region at 04:45 UTC on 2016-10-30. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Cherokee, Sylva, Bryson City, Cullowhee, Maggie Valley, Franklin.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 67 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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.

Where

Epicentre 35.4372, -83.3215. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Swain County, NC 20 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Swain County
Jackson County, NC 25 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Jackson County
Macon County, NC 33 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Macon County
Haywood County, NC 34 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Haywood County
Sevier County, TN 43 km (27 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sevier County
Graham County, NC 47 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Graham County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 4 km SSE of Sevierville, Tennessee
  2. 2.2 11 km SE of Townsend, Tennessee
  3. 2.1 16 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  4. 2.0 17 km W of Bryson City, North Carolina
  5. 1.7 17 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  6. 2.0 17 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  7. 1.7 17 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  8. 2.1 17 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  9. 2.0 17 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  10. 1.6 12 km NE of Glenville, North Carolina
  11. 1.7 16 km E of Cullowhee, North Carolina
  12. 2.5 7 km WSW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  13. 2.4 10 km SW of Gatlinburg, Tennessee
  14. 2.0 16 km WSW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  15. 2.1 10 km SSE of Pittman Center, 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

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