Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.7md
Earthquake near Johnson City, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Johnson City in the 24 hours to 10:33 am EST (15:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 170 km (106 mi) WSW, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Johnson City
This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) southeast of Johnson City, TN, at 1:06 am EST on 3 January 2026 (06:06 UTC), 1.9 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km WSW of Newland, North Carolina
46 km (28 mi) SE of Johnson City, TN · 142 km (88 mi) NW of Charlotte, NC
- When
- 1:06 am EST on 3 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) southeast of Johnson City, TN · earthquakes near Johnson City
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 1.7 (md)
- Depth
- 1.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Avery County, 7 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 310 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Johnson City, TN
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Johnson City, 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Johnson City, 42 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: Banner Elk, Roan Mountain, Spruce Pine, Foscoe, Blowing Rock.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 12 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 5.7 900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 80× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 36.0692, -81.9987. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avery County, NC | 7 km (4 mi) | E | earthquakes near Avery County |
| Mitchell County, NC | 16 km (10 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Carter County, TN | 27 km (17 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Carter County |
| Watauga County, NC | 32 km (20 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Watauga County |
| Yancey County, NC | 34 km (21 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Yancey County |
| Unicoi County, TN | 38 km (24 mi) | W | earthquakes near Unicoi County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.