QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Greenback, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Greenback in the 24 hours to 11:07 am EST (16:07 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 27 km (17 mi) NW, at 1:54 am EDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Greenback

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Greenback, TN, at 3:47 pm EDT on 19 March 2026 (19:47 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SSW of Greenback, Tennessee

42 km (26 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

3:47 pm EDT, Mar 19, 2026 · · 20 km deep · released about 58 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loudon County 16 kmMonroe County 22 kmBlount County 24 kmRoane County 38 kmKnox County 45 kmGraham County 45 kmMcMinn County 46 kmAnderson County 53 kmCherokee 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
3:47 pm EDT on 19 March 2026 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Greenback, TN · earthquakes near Greenback
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loudon County, 16 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 236 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Greenback, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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 23 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 58 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 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 2,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 35.6402, -84.1822. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loudon County, TN 16 km (10 mi) NW earthquakes near Loudon County
Monroe County, TN 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Monroe County
Blount County, TN 24 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Blount County
Roane County, TN 38 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Roane County
Knox County, TN 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Knox County
Graham County, NC 45 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Graham County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 6 km NNE of Rockford, Tennessee
  2. 1.6 1 km SSW of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  3. 1.6 3 km SSW of Huntsville, Tennessee
  4. 1.9 4 km ENE of Riceville, Tennessee
  5. 2.4 11 km NW of Huntsville, Tennessee
  6. 1.7 5 km SSW of Maryville, Tennessee
  7. 1.9 7 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  8. 1.7 8 km ESE of Englewood, Tennessee
  9. 2.1 5 km NNE of Greenback, Tennessee
  10. 2.0 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  11. 2.1 1 km S of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  12. 1.7 1 km ENE of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  13. 1.8 11 km NNE of Decatur, Tennessee
  14. 2.0 3 km SW of Tellico Village, Tennessee
  15. 1.6 8 km E of Englewood, 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.