A SHOCK Yellowstone earthquake discovery was made after scientists announced they had detected more than 200 rumbles in a “quake swarm” that occurred in the north east of West Yellowstone, Montana.

The shock discovery was announced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that declared the quakes have been occurring “over the past several days”.

In a post, it wrote: “Over the past several days, an earthquake swarm has been ongoing at Yellowstone. “Keep in mind that swarms like this account for more than 50 per cent of the seismic activity at Yellowstone and no volcanic activity has occurred from any past such events. “As of the night of February 18, over 200 earthquakes have been located in an area ~13 km (8 miles) North East of West Yellowstone, Montana.

The USGS added that the seismic rates and the magnitude of the quakes have “increased markedly” and warned that the largest quake reached a magnitude of 2.9 on the Richter scale.

“On February 15, seismicity rates and magnitudes increased markedly. As of the night of February 18, the largest earthquake in the swarm is 2.9 magnitude, and none of the events have been felt. “All are occurring about 8 km (5 miles) beneath the surface.” The USGS attributed the exponential seismic activity to the “numerous faults” in the region that are constantly moving beneath the surface of the Yellowstone.

It continued: "The current and past earthquake swarms reflect the geology of the region, which contains numerous faults, as well as fluids that are constantly in motion beneath the surface. “This combination of existing faults and fluid migration, plus the fact that the region is probably still ‘feeling’ the stress effects of the 1959 earthquake, contribute to making this area a hotbed of seismicity and swarm activity.”