M1.8 earthquake 7 km E of Etowah, Tennessee
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 7 km E of Etowah, Tennessee on Wed, Jan 8, 1986, 3:54 AM EST (08:54 UTC), 15 km (10 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.7 8 km ENE of Seymour, Tennessee. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.8 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1986-01-08 08:54:18 UTC
- Depth
- 15.4 km (9.6 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 35.311° N, 84.439° W
- Region
- Tennessee
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- From location
- Station coverage gap
- 46°
- Stations used
- 32
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 4 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.78 km ENE of Seymour, Tennessee · 14849 days ago · 21 km deep · 100 km away
- 2.27 km NW of Sevierville, Tennessee · 14849 days ago · 15 km deep · 100 km away
- 1.81 km SSE of Chickamauga, Georgia · 14826 days ago · 15 km deep · 92 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTennessee earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event se60477. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 10:30 PM UTC.