Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Sparta, NC
USGS: 2 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- When
- 7:57 pm EDT on 22 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) SSE of Sparta, NC · earthquakes near Sparta
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 1.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Alleghany County, 2 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2162 days ago
A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) SSE of Sparta, NC, at 7:57 pm EDT on 22 August 2020 (23:57 UTC). 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Thurmond, Galax, Hays, Mulberry.
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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 370,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 260,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 23× the energy of this one
- 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.1 on 2020-08-09 — about 33,000 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 36.4843, -81.1068. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | 2 km (1 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alleghany County |
| Grayson County, VA | 21 km (13 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Grayson County |
| Galax city, VA | 26 km (16 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Galax city |
| Wilkes County, NC | 31 km (19 mi) | S | earthquakes near Wilkes County |
| Ashe County, NC | 35 km (22 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ashe County |
| Surry County, NC | 38 km (24 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Surry County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 3 km WNW of Thurmond, North Carolina
- 2.2 9 km ESE of Independence, Virginia
- 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.1 4 km WSW of Lowgap, North Carolina
- 2.2 16 km E of Jefferson, North Carolina
- 2.0 8 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.2 6 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.1 1 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.3 5 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.3 2 km E of Sparta, North Carolina
- 1.5 8 km W of Lowgap, North Carolina
- 2.3 8 km W of Lowgap, North Carolina
- 2.6 Virginia-North Carolina border region
- 2.7 5 km S of Hillsville, Virginia
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.