Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 5.1mw
Earthquake near Sparta, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Sparta in the 24 hours to 1:08 pm EST (18:08 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 5.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Sparta, NC, at 8:07 am EDT on 9 August 2020 (12:07 UTC), 4.1 km deep. 66,721 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
- When
- 8:07 am EDT on 9 August 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Sparta, NC · earthquakes near Sparta
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 5.1 (mw)
- Depth
- 4.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 66,721 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity VII (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- yellow
- Nearest
- Alleghany County, 4 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 152 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 moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 797 km (495 mi) from the epicentre. In Sparta, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity VI (strong). 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 5 km, intensity VI. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 670 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 5.1 about 670 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1,400× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
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 36.4743, -81.0865. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alleghany County, NC | 4 km (3 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Alleghany County |
| Grayson County, VA | 23 km (14 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Grayson County |
| Galax city, VA | 26 km (16 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Galax city |
| Wilkes County, NC | 30 km (19 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Wilkes County |
| Surry County, NC | 36 km (23 mi) | E | earthquakes near Surry County |
| Ashe County, NC | 37 km (23 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ashe County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 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
- 1.8 9 km SSE of West Jefferson, North Carolina
- 2.6 Virginia-North Carolina border region
- 2.1 6 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 1.9 2 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
- 2.0 8 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 1.8 4 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 1.6 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
- 1.6 10 km NNW of Hays, North Carolina
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.