Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2md
Earthquake near West Canton, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in West Canton in the 24 hours to 3:26 am EST (08:26 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 8 km (5 mi) S, at 7:24 am EDT on 22 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near West Canton
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of West Canton, NC, at 6:09 am EDT on 4 June 2023 (10:09 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 740 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km NNW of West Canton, North Carolina
29 km (18 mi) W of Asheville, NC · 106 km (66 mi) ESE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 6:09 am EDT on 4 June 2023 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of West Canton, NC · earthquakes near West Canton
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (md)
- Depth
- 0.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 740 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Haywood County, 10 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1187 days ago
Earthquake alerts for West Canton, NC
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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 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 208 km (129 mi) from the epicentre. In West Canton, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Asheville 29 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 150,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.3× more
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 lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 Near Asheville, North Carolina · 35 km ESE of this epicentre
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 35.5797, -82.8723. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haywood County, NC | 10 km (6 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Buncombe County, NC | 31 km (19 mi) | E | earthquakes near Buncombe County |
| Madison County, NC | 35 km (22 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Madison County |
| Jackson County, NC | 40 km (25 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Transylvania County, NC | 41 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Transylvania County |
| Cocke County, TN | 44 km (27 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Cocke County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 7 km SE of Brevard, North Carolina
- 2.1 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.0 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km SSW of Canton, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 2.1 8 km S of West Canton, North Carolina
- 1.7 8 km ENE of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 1.9 8 km E of Weaverville, North Carolina
- 1.9 4 km N of West Canton, North Carolina
- 1.6 9 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.7 5 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 1.7 9 km W of Rosman, 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.