QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Tennessee

Yes. A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded in Tennessee, 22 km (14 mi) W of Chattanooga, TN, at 11:14 am EDT on 11 August 2019 (15:14 UTC), 20 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

22 km (14 mi) W of Chattanooga, TN

· 20 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Marion County 15 kmDade County 20 kmHamilton County 30 kmCatoosa County 35 kmWalker County 37 kmSequatchie County 39 kmGrundy County 45 kmJackson County 54 kmWhitfield 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
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Marion County, 15 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2649 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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Mountain, Jasper, New Hope, Chattanooga, Chattanooga Valley.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 86,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 35.0318, -85.4882. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Marion County, TN 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Marion County
Dade County, GA 20 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Dade County
Hamilton County, TN 30 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hamilton County
Catoosa County, GA 35 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Catoosa County
Walker County, GA 37 km (23 mi) SSE earthquakes near Walker County
Sequatchie County, TN 39 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Sequatchie County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 2 km SW of Chickamauga, Georgia
  2. 2.2 2 km S of Ringgold, Georgia
  3. 2.5 4 km N of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
  4. 2.1 10 km SE of Chickamauga, Georgia
  5. 2.2 4 km WSW of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
  6. 1.9 1 km E of Collegedale, Tennessee
  7. 2.1 6 km SW of Bridgeport, Alabama
  8. 2.3 4 km NE of Stevenson, Alabama
  9. 2.2 3 km ENE of East Brainerd, Tennessee
  10. 2.5 7 km ENE of Stevenson, Alabama
  11. 1.9 Alabama
  12. 2.3 8 km W of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
  13. 2.5 6 km SSE of Sewanee, Tennessee
  14. 2.2 8 km ENE of Dunlap, Tennessee
  15. 1.5 12 km E of Mentone, Alabama

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.