QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Cleveland, TN

USGS: 7 km SW of Charleston, Tennessee

9 km (5 mi) NE of Cleveland, TN · 44 km (28 mi) ENE of Chattanooga, TN

6:53 am EDT, Mar 13, 2017 · · 20 km deep · released about 38 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cleveland Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Bradley County 10 kmMcMinn County 27 kmPolk County 28 kmMeigs County 30 kmHamilton County 37 kmRhea County 42 kmCatoosa County 48 kmMurray County 49 kmWhitfield County 51 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
6:53 am EDT on 13 March 2017 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) NE of Cleveland, TN · earthquakes near Cleveland
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Bradley County, 10 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3491 days ago

A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) NE of Cleveland, TN, at 6:53 am EDT on 13 March 2017 (10:53 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hopewell, East Cleveland, Benton, South Cleveland, Wildwood Lake, Etowah.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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 35.2382, -84.8087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Bradley County, TN 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bradley County
McMinn County, TN 27 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near McMinn County
Polk County, TN 28 km (18 mi) ESE earthquakes near Polk County
Meigs County, TN 30 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Meigs County
Hamilton County, TN 37 km (23 mi) WSW earthquakes near Hamilton County
Rhea County, TN 42 km (26 mi) NNW earthquakes near Rhea 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. 1.7 1 km N of Decatur, Tennessee
  2. 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  3. 2.2 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  4. 2.1 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  5. 2.1 12 km NNE of Decatur, TN
  6. 2.1 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  7. 1.8 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  8. 2.5 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  9. 1.8 Tennessee
  10. 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  11. 2.1 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  12. 1.9 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  13. 3.0 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  14. 4.4 12 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  15. 1.9 2 km N of Graysville, 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.