M1.7 earthquake 6 km SSE of Valley Head, Alabama
A magnitude 1.7 earthquake struck 6 km SSE of Valley Head, Alabama on Sun, Oct 19, 1997, 3:45 PM CDT (20:45 UTC), 2 km (1 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M2.4 3 km WSW of Menlo, Georgia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 1.7 (md), micro
- Local time
- UTC
- 1997-10-19 20:45:20 UTC
- Depth
- 1.9 km (1.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 34.518° N, 85.590° W
- Region
- Alabama
- 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
- 169°
- Stations used
- 15
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 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 2.43 km WSW of Menlo, Georgia · 10550 days ago · 0 km deep · 9 km away
- 1.69 km W of Cleveland, Tennessee · 10526 days ago · 2 km deep · 91 km away
- 1.64 km SSW of Hopewell, Tennessee · 10518 days ago · 9 km deep · 98 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayAlabama earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event se61560. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 6:29 AM UTC.