QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Tennessee

21 km (13 mi) ESE of Chattanooga, TN

· 15 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Catoosa County 18 kmBradley County 20 kmHamilton County 22 kmWhitfield County 26 kmMurray County 36 kmWalker County 42 kmPolk County 45 kmDade County 48 kmSequatchie County 52 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 2.0 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Catoosa County, 18 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3610 days ago

A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded at Tennessee at 10:54 UTC on 2016-11-14. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Apison, Collegedale, East Brainerd, Harrison, Varnell, South Cleveland.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 35.0282, -85.0218. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Catoosa County, GA 18 km (11 mi) SW earthquakes near Catoosa County
Bradley County, TN 20 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Bradley County
Hamilton County, TN 22 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Hamilton County
Whitfield County, GA 26 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Whitfield County
Murray County, GA 36 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Murray County
Walker County, GA 42 km (26 mi) SW earthquakes near Walker County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 2 km WSW of Indian Springs, Georgia
  2. 2.5 5 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
  3. 2.7 6 km WSW of Chickamauga, Georgia
  4. 2.0 5 km E of East Cleveland, Tennessee
  5. 2.2 10 km SSW of Benton, Tennessee
  6. 1.6 5 km WNW of Varnell, Georgia
  7. 1.9 5 km NW of Varnell, Georgia
  8. 1.8 4 km WSW of Graysville, Tennessee
  9. 2.4 1 km S of LaFayette, Georgia
  10. 2.1 2 km W of Hopewell, Tennessee
  11. 2.4 7 km NE of Dalton, Georgia
  12. 2.4 Tennessee
  13. 2.3 10 km S of Etowah, Tennessee
  14. 2.3 1 km E of South Cleveland, Tennessee
  15. 2.4 6 km S of Tunnel Hill, Georgia

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.