Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Cullowhee, NC
No earthquake was likely felt in Cullowhee in the 24 hours to 3:27 am EST (08:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 12 km (8 mi) WSW, at 11:05 pm EDT on 4 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cullowhee
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Cullowhee, NC, at 8:04 pm EDT on 23 March 2026 (00:04 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 852 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
95 km (59 mi) SE of Knoxville, TN
- When
- 8:04 pm EDT on 23 March 2026 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Cullowhee, NC · earthquakes near Cullowhee
- North Carolina today
- every earthquake in North Carolina in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 0.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 852 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Jackson County, 17 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 160 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cullowhee, NC
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cullowhee, NC. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 54 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Cullowhee, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Sylva, Franklin, Bryson City, Cherokee.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 280 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 53,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 38,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 280 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
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 35.2895, -83.3123. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County, NC | 17 km (11 mi) | E | earthquakes near Jackson County |
| Macon County, NC | 18 km (11 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Macon County |
| Swain County, NC | 34 km (21 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Swain County |
| Haywood County, NC | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Haywood County |
| Transylvania County, NC | 46 km (29 mi) | E | earthquakes near Transylvania County |
| Rabun County, GA | 46 km (29 mi) | S | earthquakes near Rabun County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km SSW of Canton, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km W of Rosman, North Carolina
- 2.1 10 km SSW of Dillsboro, North Carolina
- 1.6 9 km NNE of Salem, South Carolina
- 1.8 8 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 2.0 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 2.1 8 km S of West Canton, North Carolina
- 1.9 7 km SSE of Clyde, North Carolina
- 1.8 8 km NNW of Bryson City, North Carolina
- 2.2 10 km W of Forest Hills, North Carolina
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.