QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Tennessee-North Carolina border region

Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded in the Tennessee-North Carolina border region, 22 km (13 mi) S of Knoxville, TN, at 4:35 am EDT on 28 October 2023 (08:35 UTC), 18 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

22 km (13 mi) S of Knoxville, TN

· 18 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Blount County 10 kmKnox County 24 kmLoudon County 34 kmSevier County 37 kmAnderson County 44 kmMonroe County 46 kmSwain County 48 kmGraham County 49 kmRoane County 53 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 2.0 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Blount County, 10 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1109 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 15 km (9 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: Maryville 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 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 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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.

Where

Epicentre 35.7760, -83.9372. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Blount County, TN 10 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Blount County
Knox County, TN 24 km (15 mi) N earthquakes near Knox County
Loudon County, TN 34 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near Loudon County
Sevier County, TN 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Sevier County
Anderson County, TN 44 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near Anderson County
Monroe County, TN 46 km (29 mi) SW earthquakes near Monroe County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 6 km NW of Madisonville, Tennessee
  2. 1.6 3 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  3. 1.6 7 km WSW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  4. 2.1 8 km ENE of Seymour, Tennessee
  5. 2.0 6 km SSE of Vonore, Tennessee
  6. 1.7 7 km ESE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  7. 1.8 7 km ESE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  8. 1.8 5 km S of Louisville, Tennessee
  9. 2.3 6 km SW of Maryville, Tennessee
  10. 1.9 9 km NNE of Tellico Plains, Tennessee
  11. 1.5 6 km SSW of Louisville, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 2 km NE of Greenback, Tennessee
  13. 2.1 16 km SE of Vonore, Tennessee
  14. 1.9 2 km NE of Greenback, Tennessee
  15. 2.3 2 km NE of Greenback, 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.