QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

17 km W of Bryson City, North Carolina

· 8.9 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Swain County 20 kmGraham County 22 kmBlount County 36 kmSevier County 38 kmMacon County 40 kmClay County 47 kmJackson County 51 kmCherokee County 53 kmMonroe County 55 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
8.9 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Swain County, 20 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 505 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 31 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 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 35.4622, -83.6388. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Swain County, NC 20 km (12 mi) SW of here earthquakes near Swain County
Graham County, NC 22 km (13 mi) NE of here earthquakes near Graham County
Blount County, TN 36 km (22 mi) SE of here earthquakes near Blount County
Sevier County, TN 38 km (23 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Sevier County
Macon County, NC 40 km (25 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Macon County
Clay County, NC 47 km (29 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Clay County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 12 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  2. 2.1 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  3. 2.0 3 km WSW of Alcoa, Tennessee
  4. 2.2 3 km WSW of Alcoa, Tennessee
  5. 2.2 10 km WNW of Lake Santeetlah, North Carolina
  6. 2.3 4 km N of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
  7. 1.8 8 km NNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  8. 2.2 10 km W of Forest Hills, North Carolina
  9. 2.6 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  10. 1.8 13 km SSE of Greenback, Tennessee
  11. 2.2 13 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  12. 2.0 21 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  13. 1.8 2 km WNW of Maryville, Tennessee
  14. 1.8 5 km SW of Maryville, Tennessee
  15. 1.6 10 km ENE of Tellico Plains, 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.