QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

16 km WNW of Bryson City, North Carolina

· 3.6 km deep · released about 47 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Swain County 17 kmGraham County 24 kmSevier County 35 kmBlount County 35 kmMacon County 41 kmClay County 49 kmJackson County 50 kmCherokee County 55 kmMonroe County 57 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 2.1 (md)
Depth
3.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Swain County, 17 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 891 days ago

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

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 47 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 20× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 47 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 35.4835, -83.6250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Swain County, NC 17 km (11 mi) WSW of here earthquakes near Swain County
Graham County, NC 24 km (15 mi) NE of here earthquakes near Graham County
Sevier County, TN 35 km (22 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Sevier County
Blount County, TN 35 km (22 mi) SE of here earthquakes near Blount County
Macon County, NC 41 km (26 mi) NNW of here earthquakes near Macon County
Clay County, NC 49 km (31 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

36 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. 1.5 2 km W of Maryville, 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

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