THREE earthquakes have struck in Argyll within hours of each other - with some comparing the tremors to a bomb blast.

The first, a 2.2 magnitude quake, was logged by the British Geological Survey at Oban today at 3.03am.

Then a 1.6 magnitude tremor was recorded at 8.09am, followed by a 0.5 magnitude earthquake 17 minutes later.

Quakes can come in clusters. An earthquake swarm is a sequence of seismic events occurring in a local area within a relatively short period of time.

They all occurred at a depth of two kilometres.

They were all centred in Glen Lonan, about two miles from Oban, but the first was even felt many miles away on the Isle of Mull.

On social media, residents reported feeling the ground shake, with one describing it as “a rocket launch.”

Others said their walls were “shaking”.

The tremor only lasted for a short while, by some accounts less than 10 seconds.

BGS said it was:"felt by people in Oban, Mull and surrounding villages in the Argyll and Bute region, mainly from within around 10 km of the epicentre.

Reports described, 'it was more the sound of an explosion than a rumble', 'there was a violent crack and a bang', 'the windows rattled' and 'felt and heard rumbling and creaking'.

This is the second earthquake in the West Highlands this year.

A 2.9-magnitude quake was felt in Oban, Strontian, Mull, and Kilmore on January 5 around 9pm.

The same area last year suffered its 18th quake in just eight months.

People living in Oban, Ballachulish, The Isle of Mull and Ardtornish all reported feeling strong shaking and rumbling.

The epicentre was near Beinn Ladain and about 20 miles north west of Oban.

Locals then described the ground and walls shaking for about three seconds, while others said the tremors felt like “a tank was passing the house”.

Others said they heard very loud bang and rumbling while windows and doors rattled and one resident said they had “felt the whole house shake".

A spokesperson for the British Geological Survey said that quake was "felt by many people in Oban, Kilchoan, Strontian, Mull, Lismore and many surrounding villages in the region, mainly from within approximately 30 km of the epicentre."

A previous 2.8 quake on February , 2024, was felt by people in Acharacle, Strontian, Highland and Port Appin, Argyll and Bute, all within 20 km (12.4 miles) of the epicentre.

Reports then described, "a loud rumbling sound", "felt a weak trembling" and it "felt like a lorry was driving into the house".

There are roughly 200-300 quakes in Britain every year, but the vast majority 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.

The largest known Scottish earthquake occurred near Loch Awe in 1880, with a magnitude of 5.2.

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.

The most damaging UK earthquake was in the Colchester area in 1884. Some 1200 buildings needed repairs, chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked.

Scotland has been battered by more than 4,000 earthquakes in the past 50 years.

But few have had a significant impact on residents.