Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1md
Earthquake near Sewanee, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Sewanee in the 24 hours to 8:10 am CST (14:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 18 km (11 mi) ESE, at 10:28 pm CST on 23 November 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sewanee
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Sewanee, TN, at 3:33 am CDT on 10 May 2020 (08:33 UTC), 8.4 km deep. 138 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km SSE of Sewanee, Tennessee
59 km (37 mi) W of Chattanooga, TN · 140 km (87 mi) SE of Nashville-Davidson, TN
- When
- 3:33 am CDT on 10 May 2020 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) south-southeast of Sewanee, TN · earthquakes near Sewanee
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (md)
- Depth
- 8.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 138 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Franklin County, 19 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2296 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Sewanee, 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 151 km (94 mi) from the epicentre. In Sewanee, 7 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Cowan, Monteagle, Decherd, Tracy City, Winchester, South Pittsburg.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,500 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× more
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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
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 35.1405, -85.8918. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, TN | 19 km (12 mi) | W | earthquakes near Franklin County |
| Marion County, TN | 26 km (16 mi) | E | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Grundy County, TN | 33 km (20 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Grundy County |
| Coffee County, TN | 42 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Coffee County |
| Jackson County, AL | 43 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Moore County, TN | 46 km (28 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Moore County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
14 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 7 km SSW of Dunlap, Tennessee
- 2.4 12 km S of Tracy City, Tennessee
- 2.0 4 km NNE of Trenton, Georgia
- 2.3 3 km S of Lone Oak, Tennessee
- 2.1 6 km SW of Bridgeport, Alabama
- 2.3 4 km NE of Stevenson, Alabama
- 2.5 7 km ENE of Stevenson, Alabama
- 2.5 6 km SSE of Sewanee, Tennessee
- 2.2 9 km SE of Palmer, Tennessee
- 1.9 5 km SSE of Stevenson, Alabama
- 2.3 4 km ESE of Powells Crossroads, Tennessee
- 2.3 3 km WSW of Trenton, Georgia
- 2.4 10 km NNW of Kimball, Tennessee
- 2.8 7 km SSE of Sewanee, 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
- 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.