Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.0md
Earthquake near Dayton, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 4:21 am EST (09:21 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 28 km (17 mi) ENE, at 2:34 pm EDT on 2 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dayton
This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Dayton, TN, at 5:01 am EST on 26 November 2023 (10:01 UTC), 25 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10 km NNW of Dayton, Tennessee
61 km (38 mi) NNE of Chattanooga, TN · 48 km (30 mi) NNW of Cleveland, TN
- When
- 5:01 am EST on 26 November 2023 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Dayton, TN · earthquakes near Dayton
- Magnitude
- M 2.0 (md)
- Depth
- 25 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Rhea County, 8 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1081 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Dayton, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Dayton, 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Dayton, 11 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: Pikeville, Graysville, Spring City, Sale Creek, Decatur.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 3,800 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 35.5877, -85.0407. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhea County, TN | 8 km (5 mi) | E | earthquakes near Rhea County |
| Bledsoe County, TN | 15 km (9 mi) | W | earthquakes near Bledsoe County |
| Meigs County, TN | 22 km (14 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Meigs County |
| Van Buren County, TN | 40 km (25 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Van Buren County |
| Cumberland County, TN | 41 km (25 mi) | N | earthquakes near Cumberland County |
| Sequatchie County, TN | 41 km (26 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Sequatchie 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
- 1.9 4 km ENE of Riceville, Tennessee
- 2.1 7 km SSW of Dunlap, Tennessee
- 1.8 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.4 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
- 1.7 6 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
- 2.0 6 km WSW of Riceville, Tennessee
- 1.9 5 km SSW of Riceville, Tennessee
- 2.2 2 km W of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.1 4 km NNW of Dayton, Tennessee
- 2.2 13 km S of Midtown, Tennessee
- 1.8 6 km SW of Decatur, Tennessee
- 2.1 3 km NE of Niota, Tennessee
- 2.3 7 km SSE of Charleston, Tennessee
- 2.4 4 km E of Athens, 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.