Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Athens, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Athens in the 24 hours to 2:08 am EST (07:08 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 7 km (4 mi) SW, at 6:30 am EDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Athens
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east-southeast of Athens, TN, at 9:28 am EST on 5 December 2019 (14:28 UTC), 9.0 km deep. 12 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SE of Englewood, Tennessee
79 km (49 mi) SW of Knoxville, TN · 46 km (28 mi) ENE of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 9:28 am EST on 5 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) east-southeast of Athens, TN · earthquakes near Athens
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 9.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 12 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- McMinn County, 18 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1900 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Athens, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Athens, TN. No account or email needed.
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 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Athens, 16 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.
Likely felt in: Athens 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 79 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 190,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 79 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 1,500 times the energy of this one.
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 35.3827, -84.4327. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| McMinn County, TN | 18 km (11 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Monroe County, TN | 18 km (11 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Monroe County |
| Polk County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Meigs County, TN | 38 km (23 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Loudon County, TN | 41 km (25 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Loudon County |
| Cherokee County, NC | 43 km (27 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Cherokee County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
48 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 Tennessee
- 1.6 1 km W of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 1.7 5 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 1.5 15 km ENE of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 1.8 6 km S of Friendsville, Tennessee
- 1.6 11 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 2.1 7 km NNE of Benton, Tennessee
- 1.9 1 km NW of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.0 3 km SE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 1.9 11 km SSW of Decatur, Tennessee
- 1.6 7 km WSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
- 2.1 11 km SSW of Benton, Tennessee
- 2.3 5 km NE of Greenback, Tennessee
- 2.2 11 km SSW of Benton, Tennessee
- 2.2 7 km SE of Dayton, 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.