An earthquake was felt in parts of Britain today (Monday, March 21). The tremors caused homes in areas of northern Scotland to rattle for about two minutes.
According to The British Geological Survey it was felt in Shetland, Aberdeen, Ellon, Stonehaven, Helmsdale, Inverurie, Lairg, Huntly, Banff and Fraserburgh, the MirrorOnline reports. It was of a 5.1 magnitude and happened at 5.23am off the north east of Shetland.
The BGS had reports saying such things as "it woke me up as windows rattled", "bed shook and windows creaked", "mirror rattled". Other comments said: "felt it as well as heard it, enough to wake me up", "lying in bed and heard a low rumbling sound", "three waves of vibration in about three seconds."
According to the United States Geology Survey, it lasted for around two minutes. More than 70 are said to have reported the quake.
Britain can have around 200 to 300 earthquakes every year and most are so small that no one notices them. However, between 20-30 are over 2.0 magnitude which can be felt over a wider area.
Ryan Thomson, who lives in Shetland, said the quake woke him up. He said: "I initially woke up with the sound which was very similar to a very low flying jet or extremely loud thunder, it wasn't until I saw the lightshade moving that I clicked that this could be a small earthquake.
"There wasn't much movement here, I believe other parts of Shetland felt that more, but the noise was extremely loud and quite alarming. Earthquakes are of course very rare but not unheard of here in Shetland.
"There was one around five years ago in a similar place, but this was certainly the loudest and most noticeable one I've ever experienced in Shetland." Earthquakes in Scotland are most often attributed to glacial rebound.
Until about 10,500 years ago much of the north of the UK was covered by a thick layer of ice - which pushed the rocks down into the underlying mantle. These rocks have been slowly rising back up ever since the ice melted, causing occasional earthquakes in the process.
The UK is also subject to tectonic stresses caused by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean, which is slowly pushing the entire of Eurasia to the east, and from the northward motion of Africa, which is pushing into Europe from the South.
