Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Galax, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Galax in the 24 hours to 4:16 am EST (09:16 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 15 km (9 mi) WSW, at 7:45 pm EST on 22 February 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Galax
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Galax, VA, at 5:19 am EDT on 16 June 2021 (09:19 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 9 km N of Independence, Virginia
- When
- 5:19 am EDT on 16 June 2021 ()
- Where
- 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Galax, VA · earthquakes near Galax
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Grayson County, 9 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1478 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Galax, VA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Galax, VA. 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 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In Galax, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 45,000 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 36.7093, -81.1400. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayson County, VA | 9 km (6 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Grayson County |
| Galax city, VA | 21 km (13 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Galax city |
| Wythe County, VA | 22 km (14 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Wythe County |
| Alleghany County, NC | 24 km (15 mi) | S | earthquakes near Alleghany County |
| Carroll County, VA | 37 km (23 mi) | E | earthquakes near Carroll County |
| Smyth County, VA | 39 km (24 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Smyth County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
24 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.