Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Cleveland, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Cleveland in the 24 hours to 1:49 am EST (06:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 16 km (10 mi) ENE, at 2:03 am EDT on 3 August 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cleveland
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Cleveland, TN, at 3:24 am EDT on 3 August 2021 (07:24 UTC), 4.5 km deep.
USGS: 6 km NNW of Calhoun, Tennessee
54 km (34 mi) NE of Chattanooga, TN · 21 km (13 mi) NNE of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 3:24 am EDT on 3 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) north-northeast of Cleveland, TN · earthquakes near Cleveland
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 4.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- McMinn County, 15 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1927 days ago
Earthquake alerts for 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 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 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Cleveland, 24 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: Athens 19 km, intensity II · Decatur 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 2,600 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 35.3495, -84.7622. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| McMinn County, TN | 15 km (10 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near McMinn County |
| Meigs County, TN | 19 km (12 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Bradley County, TN | 23 km (15 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Bradley County |
| Rhea County, TN | 33 km (20 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| Polk County, TN | 33 km (21 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Polk County |
| Hamilton County, TN | 45 km (28 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 13 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
- 2.1 13 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
- 2.0 0 km S of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.6 9 km NNW of Graysville, Tennessee
- 1.5 2 km NNW of Madisonville, Tennessee
- 1.7 5 km E of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.2 3 km ENE of East Brainerd, Tennessee
- 2.4 7 km E of Etowah, Tennessee
- 2.2 7 km ENE of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.0 10 km NNW of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.4 9 km WNW of Hopewell, Tennessee
- 1.9 17 km SSE of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
- 2.1 13 km E of Benton, Tennessee
- 1.9 10 km S of Spring City, Tennessee
- 1.7 4 km W of Etowah, 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.