QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

4 km WSW of Tellico Village, TN

Yes. A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km WSW of Tellico Village, TN, 46 km (29 mi) SW of Knoxville, TN, at 12:47 pm EDT on 20 April 2020 (16:47 UTC), 22 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

46 km (29 mi) SW of Knoxville, TN

· 22 km deep · released about 110 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loudon County 8 kmMonroe County 24 kmRoane County 29 kmBlount County 34 kmMcMinn County 40 kmKnox County 49 kmMeigs County 50 kmAnderson County 51 kmGraham County 55 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
22 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Loudon County, 8 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2316 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 34 km (21 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.

Likely felt in: Farragut 28 km, intensity II · Maryville 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 110 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 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 95,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 in our catalogue was M 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 1,100 times the energy of this one.

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 35.6648, -84.2943. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loudon County, TN 8 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loudon County
Monroe County, TN 24 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Monroe County
Roane County, TN 29 km (18 mi) NW earthquakes near Roane County
Blount County, TN 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Blount County
McMinn County, TN 40 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near McMinn County
Knox County, TN 49 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Knox County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 3 km SSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  2. 2.1 11 km S of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
  3. 1.9 7 km WSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  4. 2.2 5 km SE of Knoxville, Tennessee
  5. 2.0 3 km W of Knoxville, Tennessee
  6. 2.0 6 km S of Friendsville, Tennessee
  7. 2.0 2 km WSW of Alcoa, Tennessee
  8. 2.3 3 km SW of Alcoa, Tennessee
  9. 2.1 6 km E of Kingston, Tennessee
  10. 1.7 5 km S of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  11. 1.6 5 km E of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 4 km E of Niota, Tennessee
  13. 2.6 7 km WSW of Knoxville, Tennessee
  14. 1.5 11 km E of Kingston, Tennessee
  15. 1.8 11 km E of Kingston, 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.