QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Athens, TN

USGS: 5 km SSW of Athens, Tennessee

68 km (42 mi) ENE of Chattanooga, TN · 33 km (21 mi) NE of Cleveland, TN

8:04 am EDT, Aug 7, 2017 · · 15 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Athens Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N McMinn County 2 kmMeigs County 21 kmPolk County 34 kmMonroe County 34 kmBradley County 35 kmRhea County 37 kmLoudon County 46 kmRoane County 50 kmBledsoe County 57 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
8:04 am EDT on 7 August 2017 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) SSW of Athens, TN · earthquakes near Athens
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
McMinn County, 2 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3265 days ago

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) SSW of Athens, TN, at 8:04 am EDT on 7 August 2017 (12:04 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Etowah, Decatur, Benton, Sweetwater, Madisonville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 35.4033, -84.6248. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
McMinn County, TN 2 km (1 mi) N earthquakes near McMinn County
Meigs County, TN 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Meigs County
Polk County, TN 34 km (21 mi) SSE earthquakes near Polk County
Monroe County, TN 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Monroe County
Bradley County, TN 35 km (22 mi) SW earthquakes near Bradley County
Rhea County, TN 37 km (23 mi) NW earthquakes near Rhea County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 2 km NE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  2. 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  3. 2.8 13 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
  4. 2.2 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  5. 2.1 2 km SSE of Englewood, Tennessee
  6. 2.1 12 km NNE of Decatur, TN
  7. 2.1 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  8. 1.8 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  9. 2.5 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  10. 1.8 Tennessee
  11. 1.7 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  12. 2.1 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  13. 1.9 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  14. 3.0 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  15. 4.4 12 km NNE of Decatur, 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.