7 km WSW of Scottsboro, Alabama

2017-12-20 23:55 UTC · 8.5 km deep · released about 330 lb of TNT

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: 2017-12-20 23:55 UTC
Magnitude: M 2.7 (md)
Depth: 8.5 km below the surface
Felt: 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest: Jackson County, 17 km NE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3119 days ago · we first saw it 3119 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 34.6570, -86.1143. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction
Jackson County, AL	17 km (11 mi)	SW of here	earthquakes near Jackson County
DeKalb County, AL	36 km (22 mi)	NW of here	earthquakes near DeKalb County
Madison County, AL	42 km (26 mi)	ESE of here	earthquakes near Madison County
Marshall County, AL	43 km (27 mi)	NNE of here	earthquakes near Marshall County
Franklin County, TN	55 km (34 mi)	S of here	earthquakes near Franklin County
Dade County, GA	60 km (37 mi)	WSW of here	earthquakes near Dade County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.3 0 km NNE of Section, Alabama 05:35 UTC
2.1 6 km SW of Bridgeport, Alabama 18:40 UTC
2.3 4 km NE of Stevenson, Alabama 10:21 UTC
2.5 7 km ENE of Stevenson, Alabama 11:00 UTC
2.4 5 km SSW of Gurley, Alabama 17:09 UTC
1.9 5 km SSE of Stevenson, Alabama 00:51 UTC
2.2 4 km SSE of Dutton, Alabama 18:34 UTC
2.6 13 km SE of Triana, Alabama 02:28 UTC
2.3 10 km ESE of Moores Mill, Alabama 02:45 UTC
2.4 8 km E of Skyline, Alabama 17:02 UTC
1.8 11 km NNW of Pleasant Groves, Alabama 12:11 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 10:06 UTC. 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.