QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Greenback, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Greenback in the 24 hours to 2:25 pm EST (19:25 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) southeast of Greenback, TN, at 9:03 pm EDT on 7 July 2026 (01:03 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee

44 km (27 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

9:03 pm EDT, Jul 7, 2026 · · 19 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Blount County 17 kmMonroe County 23 kmLoudon County 28 kmGraham County 34 kmKnox County 46 kmRoane County 50 kmCherokee County 50 kmMcMinn County 53 kmSevier 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
9:03 pm EDT on 7 July 2026 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) southeast of Greenback, TN · earthquakes near Greenback
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Blount County, 17 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 126 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Greenback, 12 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: Vonore, Tellico Village, Maryville, Alcoa, Louisville, Eagleton Village.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 7,700 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 35.5907, -84.0662. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Blount County, TN 17 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Blount County
Monroe County, TN 23 km (14 mi) SW earthquakes near Monroe County
Loudon County, TN 28 km (17 mi) NW earthquakes near Loudon County
Graham County, NC 34 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Graham County
Knox County, TN 46 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Knox County
Roane County, TN 50 km (31 mi) NW earthquakes near Roane County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 7 km WNW of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
  2. 2.1 6 km NNE of Rockford, Tennessee
  3. 1.6 1 km SSW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  4. 1.6 3 km SSW of Huntsville, 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. 2.0 3 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  14. 1.6 8 km E of Englewood, Tennessee
  15. 1.8 8 km E of Englewood, 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.