Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
9 km SW of Wildwood Lake, TN
Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 9 km SW of Wildwood Lake, TN, 30 km (19 mi) E of Chattanooga, TN, at 3:45 am EST on 16 November 2020 (08:45 UTC), 6.6 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
30 km (19 mi) E of Chattanooga, TN · 17 km (10 mi) SSW of Cleveland, TN
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 6.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 5 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Bradley County, 14 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2114 days ago
Earthquake alerts for South Cleveland, TN
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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 46 km (29 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: South Cleveland, Wildwood Lake, Apison, Collegedale, Cleveland, East Cleveland.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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.
Where
Epicentre 35.0340, -84.9172. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley County, TN | 14 km (9 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Bradley County |
| Catoosa County, GA | 25 km (16 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Catoosa County |
| Whitfield County, GA | 26 km (16 mi) | S | earthquakes near Whitfield County |
| Hamilton County, TN | 30 km (18 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
| Murray County, GA | 31 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Murray County |
| Polk County, TN | 35 km (22 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Polk 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 1 km E of Collegedale, Tennessee
- 2.2 8 km SSW of Dalton, Georgia
- 1.7 14 km E of Benton, Tennessee
- 2.2 3 km ENE of East Brainerd, Tennessee
- 1.9 Alabama
- 2.4 9 km WNW of Hopewell, Tennessee
- 1.9 6 km NW of Eton, Georgia
- 2.1 13 km E of Benton, Tennessee
- 1.7 4 km W of Etowah, Tennessee
- 2.4 1 km SE of Etowah, Tennessee
- 2.3 8 km W of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 1.7 8 km ENE of Wildwood Lake, Tennessee
- 2.2 7 km ENE of East Cleveland, Tennessee
- 2.0 2 km SSE of Varnell, Georgia
- 1.5 13 km SW of Dalton, Georgia
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.