Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Virginia-North Carolina border region
Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in the Virginia-North Carolina border region, at 3:38 pm EDT on 31 October 2020 (19:38 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Alleghany County, 5 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2123 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 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 14 km (9 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: Sparta 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 5.1 on 2020-08-09 — about 110,000 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 36.5005, -81.0822. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | 5 km (3 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Alleghany County |
| Grayson County, VA | 21 km (13 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Grayson County |
| Galax city, VA | 24 km (15 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Galax city |
| Wilkes County, NC | 33 km (21 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) | W | earthquakes near Ashe County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
38 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.