A 2.5-magnitude earthquake struck near Spean Bridge at 3.09am on Tuesday, waking Highland residents across Fort William and nearby villages who reported a deep rumble
A small earthquake struck the Scottish Highlands, waking residents who reported a similar feeling to an underground explosion. People who felt the seismic event reported hearing a “deep rumble”.
Residents in the Scottish Highlands have reported being shaken awake after an earthquake was recorded in the early hours of Tuesday (July 28). The seismic event measured a local magnitude (ML) of 2.5 on the Richter scale, with a focal point thought to be near Spean Bridge at a depth of 5km (3.1 miles).
It was also felt in Roybridge, Inverlair, Fort William and some surrounding villages. The British Geological Survey (BGS) received a number of reports about the incident.
One person said that a “deep rumble of about five seconds woke my husband and I”. Another said they were “woken from sleep to rattling in room from crystals rolling in a tray”.
Someone else said the earthquake “felt like a small explosion underground”. Another person told the BGS: “I’m on the fourth floor of a concrete building and I was woken up by a deep, loud rumble in Fort William.”
The earthquake took place at 3.09am on Tuesday. Davie Galloway, BGS earthquake seismologist, said it was felt around 12.5 miles (20km) from the epicentre.
He said: “This is the largest event in the region, within 20 km, since the magnitude 2.7 ML Fort William earthquake on April 22 2023, which was felt with intensities of at least four EMS (European Macroseismic Scale) in Spean Bridge and the surrounding area. Historically, the largest event to have occurred nearby was the magnitude 4.5 ML West Scotland earthquake that occurred on April 23 1817, which was reported to have been felt over a large part of Scotland.”
While the UK isn’t on the edge of a major tectonic plate boundary, minor quakes are relatively common, the BBC reported. According to experts, the Highlands are criss-crossed by ancient fault networks, including the Great Glen Fault – a major fracture line running past Fort William and Spean Bridge and through Loch Ness.
Geologists also say many Scottish tremors are linked to “glacial rebound”, where the land slowly rises after being compressed by vast Ice Age glaciers, putting pressure on old fault lines, as per the BBC.
The BGS reportedly detects around 200 to 300 earthquakes across the UK each year, although only about 20 to 30 are strong enough to be felt.
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