250 Small Earthquakes Hit Yellowstone National Park Over Weekend; Largest 3.8 Magnitude

December 30, 2008 5:48 a.m. EST

Yellowstone Naional Park, MT (AHN) - More than 250 small earthquakes have shaken Yellowstone National Park since Friday.

The earthquakes have occurred in an area of the park where the temblors are common, scientists at the University of Utah say.

However, that number of earthquakes in such a short space of time is unusual, officials say.

According to the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, the quakes have been centered beneath Yellowstone Lake some five to nine miles south-southeast of Fishing Bridge. They are shallow temblors, anywhere from less than 2 miles below the earth's surface to near it, according to reports.

The earthquakes started on Friday and continued over the weekend, growing in strength. The strongest quake was 3.8 magnitude.

Yellowstone National Park is on top of an active volcano that last erupted 7,000 years ago.

Although scientists don't know why there have been so many earthquakes over such a short span of time they are monitoring the situation.