QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Easley, SC

No earthquake was likely felt in Easley in the 24 hours to 12:02 pm EST (17:02 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 149 km (93 mi) WNW, at 9:04 am EDT on 10 May 2025, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 45,935 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Easley

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 36 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Easley, SC, at 6:10 am EDT on 1 July 2026 (10:10 UTC), 6.1 km deep.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Salem, South Carolina

56 km (35 mi) WNW of Greenville, SC · 143 km (89 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN

6:10 am EDT, Jul 1, 2026 · · 6.1 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pickens County 23 kmOconee County 27 kmTransylvania County 29 kmJackson County 38 kmRabun County 42 kmMacon County 47 kmGreenville County 54 kmStephens County 56 kmAnderson County 58 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
6:10 am EDT on 1 July 2026 ()
Where
36 km (22 mi) west-northwest of Easley, SC · earthquakes near Easley
South Carolina today
every earthquake in South Carolina in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
6.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pickens County, 23 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 133 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Easley, 36 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: Pickens, Walhalla.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 34.9723, -82.9532. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pickens County, SC 23 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Pickens County
Oconee County, SC 27 km (17 mi) SSW earthquakes near Oconee County
Transylvania County, NC 29 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Transylvania County
Jackson County, NC 38 km (24 mi) NNW earthquakes near Jackson County
Rabun County, GA 42 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Rabun County
Macon County, NC 47 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Macon County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 7 km SE of Brevard, North Carolina
  2. 2.1 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  3. 1.8 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
  4. 2.1 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina

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.