Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8md
Earthquake near Fincastle, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Fincastle in the 24 hours to 5:05 am EST (10:05 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 26 km (16 mi) ENE, at 3:07 pm EST on 4 January 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fincastle
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) northwest of Fincastle, TN, at 4:29 pm EDT on 26 May 2021 (20:29 UTC), 12 km deep. 26 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km NW of Fincastle, Tennessee
58 km (36 mi) NNW of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 4:29 pm EDT on 26 May 2021 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) northwest of Fincastle, TN · earthquakes near Fincastle
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (md)
- Depth
- 12 km below the surface
- Felt
- 26 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Campbell County, 9 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1067 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fincastle, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Fincastle, TN. 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 62 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Fincastle, 9 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.
Likely felt in: Fincastle 9 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 530 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 29,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 20,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 530 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 36.4717, -84.1102. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell County, TN | 9 km (6 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Campbell County |
| Whitley County, KY | 32 km (20 mi) | N | earthquakes near Whitley County |
| Union County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Union County |
| Scott County, TN | 36 km (22 mi) | W | earthquakes near Scott County |
| Anderson County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | S | earthquakes near Anderson County |
| Claiborne County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near Claiborne County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
17 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 8 km NNE of Petros, Tennessee
- 2.6 11 km SW of Middlesboro, Kentucky
- 2.3 10 km S of Jellico, Tennessee
- 2.3 16 km N of Maynardville, Tennessee
- 2.4 5 km ENE of Harrogate, Tennessee
- 1.8 12 km W of New Tazewell, Tennessee
- 1.9 8 km WNW of Rutledge, Tennessee
- 1.8 4 km S of New Tazewell, Tennessee
- 2.1 7 km SW of Stearns, Kentucky
- 1.9 1 km WSW of Plainview, Tennessee
- 2.2 9 km W of Clinton, Tennessee
- 2.8 Kentucky-Tennessee border region
- 1.8 6 km NNE of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- 2.3 4 km E of Harrogate, Tennessee
- 2.0 6 km WSW of New Tazewell, 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.