QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

12 km E of Benton, Tennessee

· 11 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Polk County 9 kmMcMinn County 28 kmBradley County 32 kmMonroe County 37 kmFannin County 40 kmCherokee County 42 kmMeigs County 45 kmMurray County 48 kmGilmer County 56 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Polk County, 9 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 505 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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.

Where

Epicentre 35.1913, -84.5158. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Polk County, TN 9 km (6 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Polk County
McMinn County, TN 28 km (17 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near McMinn County
Bradley County, TN 32 km (20 mi) E of here earthquakes near Bradley County
Monroe County, TN 37 km (23 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Monroe County
Fannin County, GA 40 km (25 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Fannin County
Cherokee County, NC 42 km (26 mi) W of here earthquakes near Cherokee County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  2. 1.8 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  3. 2.0 8 km SSE of Etowah, Tennessee
  4. 2.3 17 km SSW of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  5. 2.4 18 km N of Ducktown, Tennessee
  6. 1.7 6 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  7. 1.9 4 km W of Etowah, Tennessee
  8. 2.0 2 km SW of Vonore, Tennessee
  9. 2.4 2 km SW of Vonore, Tennessee
  10. 2.1 7 km ESE of Benton, Tennessee
  11. 2.0 8 km E of Benton, Tennessee
  12. 2.0 6 km WSW of Riceville, Tennessee
  13. 2.4 5 km E of Etowah, Tennessee
  14. 1.8 11 km S of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  15. 2.1 5 km S of Sweetwater, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.