QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Greenback, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Greenback in the 24 hours to 11:34 pm EST (04:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 27 km (17 mi) NW, at 1:54 am EDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Greenback

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Greenback, TN, at 1:59 pm EDT on 6 September 2025 (17:59 UTC), 6.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 0 km N of Greenback, Tennessee

39 km (24 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

1:59 pm EDT, Sep 6, 2025 · · 6.4 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loudon County 15 kmBlount County 23 kmMonroe County 26 kmRoane County 37 kmKnox County 42 kmGraham County 47 kmMcMinn County 49 kmAnderson County 50 kmSevier County 60 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
1:59 pm EDT on 6 September 2025 ()
Where
in Greenback, TN · earthquakes near Greenback
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
6.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Loudon County, 15 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 431 days ago

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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Maryville 21 km, intensity II · Farragut 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 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 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 4.1 on 2025-05-10 — about 1,100 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 35.6693, -84.1738. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loudon County, TN 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Loudon County
Blount County, TN 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Blount County
Monroe County, TN 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Monroe County
Roane County, TN 37 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Roane County
Knox County, TN 42 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Knox County
Graham County, NC 47 km (29 mi) SE earthquakes near Graham County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  2. 1.7 1 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  3. 2.0 3 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  4. 1.6 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  5. 1.8 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  6. 2.2 9 km S of Oak Ridge, Tennessee
  7. 1.7 6 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  8. 2.0 2 km SW of Vonore, Tennessee
  9. 2.4 2 km SW of Vonore, Tennessee
  10. 1.5 12 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  11. 2.0 3 km ESE of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 0 km SE of Farragut, Tennessee
  13. 2.4 5 km E of Etowah, Tennessee
  14. 2.3 1 km S of Friendsville, Tennessee
  15. 1.8 5 km SSE of Friendsville, 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.