QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

11 km SE of Townsend, Tennessee

· 6.3 km deep · released about 54 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Swain County 17 kmSevier County 23 kmBlount County 26 kmGraham County 33 kmKnox County 50 kmJefferson County 52 kmMacon County 55 kmMonroe County 57 kmCocke County 59 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 2.2 (md)
Depth
6.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Swain County, 17 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 826 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 54 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 280,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 54 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 35.6105, -83.6513. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection
Swain County, NC 17 km (11 mi) WNW of here earthquakes near Swain County
Sevier County, TN 23 km (14 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Sevier County
Blount County, TN 26 km (16 mi) ESE of here earthquakes near Blount County
Graham County, NC 33 km (21 mi) NNE of here earthquakes near Graham County
Knox County, TN 50 km (31 mi) SSE of here earthquakes near Knox County
Jefferson County, TN 52 km (32 mi) SSW of here earthquakes near Jefferson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  2. 2.3 1 km S of Friendsville, Tennessee
  3. 1.8 5 km SSE of Friendsville, Tennessee
  4. 2.4 5 km SSE of Friendsville, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 4 km NE of Louisville, Tennessee
  6. 2.0 3 km WSW of Alcoa, Tennessee
  7. 2.2 3 km WSW of Alcoa, Tennessee
  8. 2.2 10 km WNW of Lake Santeetlah, North Carolina
  9. 2.3 4 km N of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
  10. 1.8 8 km NNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
  11. 2.2 10 km W of Forest Hills, North Carolina
  12. 2.6 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
  13. 2.2 2 km SSW of Greenback, Tennessee
  14. 1.8 13 km SSE of Greenback, Tennessee
  15. 2.1 7 km SE of Knoxville, 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.