QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Vonore, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Vonore in the 24 hours to 7:32 pm EST (00:32 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 8 km (5 mi) NW, at 6:50 am EDT on 12 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vonore

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south of Vonore, TN, at 6:03 pm EDT on 13 September 2018 (22:03 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: 12 km S of Vonore, Tennessee

60 km (37 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

6:03 pm EDT, Sep 13, 2018 · · 22 km deep · released about 41 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monroe County 4 kmLoudon County 30 kmBlount County 36 kmMcMinn County 37 kmGraham County 38 kmCherokee County 41 kmRoane County 49 kmPolk County 50 kmMeigs County 54 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
6:03 pm EDT on 13 September 2018 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south of Vonore, TN · earthquakes near Vonore
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monroe County, 4 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2980 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Vonore, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Madisonville, Greenback, Tellico Village, Sweetwater.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 41 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 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 41 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 35.4788, -84.2203. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monroe County, TN 4 km (3 mi) SW earthquakes near Monroe County
Loudon County, TN 30 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loudon County
Blount County, TN 36 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Blount County
McMinn County, TN 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near McMinn County
Graham County, NC 38 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Graham County
Cherokee County, NC 41 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Cherokee County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 10 km S of Etowah, Tennessee
  2. 2.4 2 km WSW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  3. 2.1 2 km W of Alcoa, Tennessee
  4. 1.6 3 km SSE of Garland, Tennessee
  5. 1.9 4 km SSE of Garland, Tennessee
  6. 1.9 10 km ESE of Vonore, Tennessee
  7. 2.0 2 km WNW of Greenback, Tennessee
  8. 1.8 3 km ENE of Madisonville, Tennessee
  9. 2.2 5 km S of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  10. 1.6 7 km ESE of Vonore, Tennessee
  11. 2.4 7 km E of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  12. 2.3 1 km ENE of Maryville, Tennessee
  13. 2.6 3 km ENE of Philadelphia, Tennessee
  14. 2.6 7 km WNW of Farragut, Tennessee
  15. 2.1 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.