Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Morganton, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Morganton in the 24 hours to 12:33 am EST (05:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 209 km (130 mi) W, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Morganton
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) north of Morganton, NC, at 9:19 am EDT on 17 August 2021 (13:19 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 1,161 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km N of Morganton, North Carolina
- When
- 9:19 am EDT on 17 August 2021 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) north of Morganton, NC · earthquakes near Morganton
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 5.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1,161 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Burke County, 7 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 536 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Morganton, NC
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Morganton, 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 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 53 km (33 mi) from the epicentre. In Morganton, 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: Drexel, Gamewell, Salem, Glen Alpine, Valdese, Cajahs Mountain.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 280 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 53,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 38,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 280 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
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 35.8048, -81.6848. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, NC | 7 km (4 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Burke County |
| Caldwell County, NC | 24 km (15 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Caldwell County |
| McDowell County, NC | 36 km (22 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near McDowell County |
| Avery County, NC | 37 km (23 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Avery County |
| Catawba County, NC | 45 km (28 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Catawba County |
| Alexander County, NC | 48 km (30 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Alexander County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
8 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km WSW of Newland, North Carolina
- 2.1 3 km NW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.2 3 km NNW of Marion, North Carolina
- 2.2 13 km NNW of Cedar Rock, North Carolina
- 1.8 12 km N of Old Fort, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km N of Spruce Pine, North Carolina
- 2.1 5 km NNE of Blowing Rock, North Carolina
- 1.8 9 km E of Bakersville, 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.