Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Powells Crossroads, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Powells Crossroads in the 24 hours to 7:03 am CST (13:03 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 39 km (24 mi) N, at 7:54 am CST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Powells Crossroads
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Powells Crossroads, TN, at 3:22 pm CDT on 13 October 2021 (20:22 UTC), 19 km deep.
USGS: 4 km ESE of Powells Crossroads, Tennessee
21 km (13 mi) WNW of Chattanooga, TN
- When
- 3:22 pm CDT on 13 October 2021 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east-southeast of Powells Crossroads, TN · earthquakes near Powells Crossroads
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 19 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Marion County, 16 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1854 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Powells Crossroads, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Powells Crossroads, 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 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 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Powells Crossroads, 5 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lone Oak, Whitwell, Signal Mountain, Fairmount, Walden, Red Bank.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 94 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 160,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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 35.1688, -85.4403. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marion County, TN | 16 km (10 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Hamilton County, TN | 22 km (13 mi) | E | earthquakes near Hamilton County |
| Sequatchie County, TN | 23 km (14 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sequatchie County |
| Grundy County, TN | 35 km (22 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Grundy County |
| Dade County, GA | 36 km (22 mi) | S | earthquakes near Dade County |
| Catoosa County, GA | 41 km (25 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Catoosa County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 13 km NE of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee
- 2.1 7 km SSW of Dunlap, Tennessee
- 2.1 11 km ESE of Trenton, Georgia
- 2.4 12 km S of Tracy City, Tennessee
- 2.0 4 km NNE of Trenton, Georgia
- 2.3 3 km S of Lone Oak, Tennessee
- 2.4 4 km NW of Cohutta, Georgia
- 2.2 6 km WNW of Linwood, Georgia
- 1.8 4 km SE of Apison, Tennessee
- 2.0 1 km WSW of Collegedale, Tennessee
- 1.8 2 km SW of Chickamauga, Georgia
- 2.2 2 km S of Ringgold, Georgia
- 2.5 4 km N of Tunnel Hill, Georgia
- 2.1 10 km SE of Chickamauga, Georgia
- 2.2 9 km NNW of Graysville, 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.