Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7md
Earthquake near Sweetwater, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Sweetwater in the 24 hours to 12:43 am EST (05:43 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 29 km (18 mi) NNE, at 1:54 am EDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sweetwater
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Sweetwater, TN, at 1:18 am EST on 8 December 2018 (06:18 UTC), 22 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km NW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
64 km (40 mi) WSW of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 1:18 am EST on 8 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) northwest of Sweetwater, TN · earthquakes near Sweetwater
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (md)
- Depth
- 22 km below the surface
- Felt
- 13 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Roane County, 19 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2818 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sweetwater, TN
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 52 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Sweetwater, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Athens 26 km, intensity II · Decatur 27 km, intensity II · Farragut 43 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 350 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 43,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 31,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 350 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 35.6795, -84.5640. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roane County, TN | 19 km (12 mi) | N | earthquakes near Roane County |
| Loudon County, TN | 23 km (15 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Loudon County |
| McMinn County, TN | 29 km (18 mi) | S | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Meigs County, TN | 29 km (18 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Rhea County, TN | 36 km (22 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| Monroe County, TN | 38 km (24 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 10 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 1.6 8 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 1.7 11 km WNW of Loudon, Tennessee
- 2.2 3 km SSW of Garland, Tennessee
- 2.1 4 km NW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.7 5 km NW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.9 6 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.0 10 km WSW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 2.0 12 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.1 9 km ESE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 2.0 11 km ESE of Vonore, Tennessee
- 1.7 4 km WNW of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 1.7 11 km ESE of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 2.4 2 km WSW of Sweetwater, 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
- 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.