QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Virginia-North Carolina border region

Yes. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded in the Virginia-North Carolina border region, 82 km (51 mi) NNW of Winston-Salem, NC, at 9:09 am EDT on 8 July 2023 (13:09 UTC), 3.9 km deep. 42 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

82 km (51 mi) NNW of Winston-Salem, NC

· 3.9 km deep · released about 220 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carroll County 1 kmGalax city 18 kmSurry County 35 kmWythe County 36 kmPulaski County 37 kmPatrick County 41 kmFloyd County 41 kmGrayson County 44 kmAlleghany County 45 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
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
3.9 km below the surface
Felt
42 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Carroll County, 1 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1159 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 49 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Sparta 43 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 220 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 70,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 50,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 220 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 in our catalogue was M 5.1 on 2020-08-09 — about 6,200 times the energy of this one.

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 36.7315, -80.7345. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carroll County, VA 1 km (0 mi) E earthquakes near Carroll County
Galax city, VA 18 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Galax city
Surry County, NC 35 km (22 mi) S earthquakes near Surry County
Wythe County, VA 36 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Wythe County
Pulaski County, VA 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Pulaski County
Patrick County, VA 41 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near Patrick County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 3 km WNW of Thurmond, North Carolina
  2. 2.2 9 km ESE of Independence, Virginia
  3. 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  4. 2.1 4 km WSW of Lowgap, North Carolina
  5. 2.0 8 km S of Sparta, North Carolina
  6. 2.2 7 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  7. 2.2 6 km SSE of Sparta, North Carolina
  8. 2.1 1 km ESE of Sparta, North Carolina
  9. 2.3 5 km SE of Sparta, North Carolina
  10. 2.3 2 km E of Sparta, North Carolina
  11. 1.5 8 km W of Lowgap, North Carolina
  12. 2.3 8 km W of Lowgap, 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.