QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Vonore, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Vonore in the 24 hours to 11:51 am EST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 8 km (5 mi) NW, at 6:50 am EDT on 12 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vonore

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Vonore, TN, at 11:23 am EST on 20 January 2026 (16:23 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NNW of Vonore, Tennessee

47 km (29 mi) SW of Knoxville, TN

11:23 am EST, Jan 20, 2026 · · 11 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loudon County 12 kmMonroe County 21 kmBlount County 32 kmRoane County 33 kmMcMinn County 39 kmKnox County 50 kmGraham County 51 kmMeigs County 51 kmAnderson County 54 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
11:23 am EST on 20 January 2026 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Vonore, TN · earthquakes near Vonore
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loudon County, 12 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 295 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Vonore, 5 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: Tellico Village, Greenback, Loudon, Madisonville, Sweetwater, Lenoir City.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 4,000 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 35.6337, -84.2675. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loudon County, TN 12 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loudon County
Monroe County, TN 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Monroe County
Blount County, TN 32 km (20 mi) E earthquakes near Blount County
Roane County, TN 33 km (21 mi) NW earthquakes near Roane County
McMinn County, TN 39 km (25 mi) SW earthquakes near McMinn County
Knox County, TN 50 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near Knox County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 6 km NNE of Rockford, Tennessee
  2. 1.6 1 km SSW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  3. 1.6 3 km SSW of Huntsville, Tennessee
  4. 1.9 4 km ENE of Riceville, Tennessee
  5. 2.4 11 km NW of Huntsville, Tennessee
  6. 1.7 5 km SSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  7. 1.9 7 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  8. 1.7 8 km ESE of Englewood, Tennessee
  9. 2.1 5 km NNE of Greenback, Tennessee
  10. 2.0 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  11. 2.1 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  12. 1.7 1 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  13. 1.8 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  14. 2.4 10 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  15. 2.0 3 km SW of Tellico Village, 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.