Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8md
Earthquake near Sparta, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Sparta in the 24 hours to 3:26 am EST (08:26 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 11 km (7 mi) NNE, at 7:45 pm EST on 22 February 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sparta
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Sparta, NC, at 11:08 pm EDT on 24 October 2020 (03:08 UTC), 1.4 km deep. 316 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km ENE of Sparta, North Carolina
- When
- 11:08 pm EDT on 24 October 2020 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) east-northeast of Sparta, NC · earthquakes near Sparta
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (md)
- Depth
- 1.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 316 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Alleghany County, 5 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2105 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sparta, NC
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Sparta, NC. 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 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 62 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Sparta, 4 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: Sparta 4 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 490 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 31,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 490 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 2,700 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 36.5165, -81.0827. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | 5 km (3 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Alleghany County |
| Grayson County, VA | 19 km (12 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Grayson County |
| Galax city, VA | 22 km (14 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Galax city |
| Wilkes County, NC | 35 km (22 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Wilkes County |
| Surry County, NC | 37 km (23 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Surry County |
| Ashe County, NC | 38 km (24 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Ashe County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 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.