Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Cullowhee, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Cullowhee in the 24 hours to 6:00 pm EST (23:00 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 12 km (8 mi) WSW, at 11:05 pm EDT on 4 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cullowhee
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) east of Cullowhee, NC, at 11:49 am EST on 28 February 2024 (16:49 UTC), 4.8 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 16 km E of Cullowhee, North Carolina
50 km (31 mi) SW of Asheville, NC · 114 km (71 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 11:49 am EST on 28 February 2024 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) east of Cullowhee, NC · earthquakes near Cullowhee
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 4.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Jackson County, 12 km W
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 233 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cullowhee, NC
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cullowhee, 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 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Cullowhee, 16 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: Hazelwood, Waynesville, Sylva, Brevard, Lake Junaluska, Maggie Valley.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 35.3037, -82.9975. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, NC | 12 km (7 mi) | W | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Transylvania County, NC | 19 km (12 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Transylvania County |
| Haywood County, NC | 28 km (18 mi) | N | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Macon County, NC | 42 km (26 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Macon County |
| Henderson County, NC | 47 km (29 mi) | E | earthquakes near Henderson County |
| Swain County, NC | 52 km (32 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Swain County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
36 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 7 km SSW of Canton, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.1 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
- 1.6 9 km NNE of Salem, South 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
- 1.9 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 1.9 4 km N of West Canton, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km NNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
- 2.2 10 km W of Forest Hills, North Carolina
- 2.6 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
- 1.6 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.