Island off west coast of Scotland shaken by five tremors

March 1, 2012 – SCOTLAND – More small earthquakes have hit the island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland. Five tremors shook the island between 07:04 and 09:32. One resident described a very deep, loud rumble. The British Geological Survey recorded the strongest at a magnitude of 2.8. A spokeswoman said there were no reports of any damage. A further four small earthquakes have already affected the area this month, reaching up to a magnitude of 2.6. Maha Rangafamy, 28, who lives in Port Charlotte, felt one of the tremors on Wednesday morning. She said: “I felt a vibration in the house and heard a rumbling noise. In the quake last week there was a thundery, rumbling noise.” The BGS spokeswoman said: “Globally speaking it is not a big one. It is a typical UK earthquake, though Islay is not especially prone to earthquakes. We’ve had quite a lot of reports of it being felt.” A small tremor was also recorded around Mull at 03:00. –BBC 

Geology: About 65 million years ago the west coast of Scotland was dominated by intense volcanic activity during the formation of the Atlantic Ocean. Although there were no volcanoes on Islay numerous associated dykes cross the island from SE to NW. Due to erosion these dykes are now seen on the surface.