QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Dayton, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Dayton in the 24 hours to 9:09 am EST (14:09 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 2.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of Dayton, TN, at 1:05 am EDT on 7 October 2025 (05:05 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 2 km W of Dayton, Tennessee

51 km (32 mi) NNE of Chattanooga, TN · 38 km (24 mi) NNW of Cleveland, TN

1:05 am EDT, Oct 7, 2025 · · 19 km deep · released about 67 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rhea County 14 kmBledsoe County 19 kmMeigs County 21 kmSequatchie County 36 kmMcMinn County 39 kmHamilton County 40 kmBradley County 41 kmVan Buren County 44 kmCumberland County 51 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
1:05 am EDT on 7 October 2025 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west of Dayton, TN · earthquakes near Dayton
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rhea County, 14 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 400 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Dayton, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Decatur 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 67 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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 1,800 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 35.4942, -85.0417. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rhea County, TN 14 km (9 mi) NE earthquakes near Rhea County
Bledsoe County, TN 19 km (12 mi) NW earthquakes near Bledsoe County
Meigs County, TN 21 km (13 mi) E earthquakes near Meigs County
Sequatchie County, TN 36 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Sequatchie County
McMinn County, TN 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near McMinn County
Hamilton County, TN 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hamilton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 13 km NE of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee
  2. 1.9 4 km ENE of Riceville, Tennessee
  3. 2.1 7 km SSW of Dunlap, Tennessee
  4. 1.8 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  5. 2.4 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  6. 1.7 6 km WNW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  7. 1.9 4 km W of Etowah, Tennessee
  8. 2.0 6 km WSW of Riceville, Tennessee
  9. 1.9 5 km SSW of Riceville, Tennessee
  10. 1.9 8 km WSW of Etowah, Tennessee
  11. 1.8 6 km WSW of Etowah, 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.