A surprise hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone national park has sent sightseers running for safety, after steam and dark-coloured rock and dirt shot up high into the sky.
The eruption happened around 10am local time on Tuesday in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.
The eruption happened around 10am local time on Tuesday in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.
Hydrothermal eruption in Yellowstone National Park sends sightseers fleeing
Video posted online shows people running away to escape the explosion at Biscuit Basin, which is now closed to visitors
Video posted online showed dozens of people watching from a boardwalk as the eruption grew in front of them.
Water and debris then began to fall and sightseers ran away to keep clear, some yelling “Back up!” and “Holy cow!” People then turned to watch the spectacle under a huge cloud of steam.
No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety after the falling rocks damaged a boardwalk that keeps people off Yellowstone’s fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas.
Water and debris then began to fall and sightseers ran away to keep clear, some yelling “Back up!” and “Holy cow!” People then turned to watch the spectacle under a huge cloud of steam.
No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety after the falling rocks damaged a boardwalk that keeps people off Yellowstone’s fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas.
“We saw more steam coming up and within seconds it became this huge thing,” said Vlada March, a California real estate agent who was with her mother, husband and two kids.
“It just exploded and became like a black cloud that covered the sun.”
Photos and video of the aftermath showed damaged guardrails and boards covered in rock and silt near muddy pools. Park geologists are investigating the eruption.
The explosion could have resulted from a clogged passageway in the extensive natural plumbing network that underlies Yellowstone’s world-famous geysers, hot springs and other thermal features, said scientist Mike Poland at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The explosion could have resulted from a clogged passageway in the extensive natural plumbing network that underlies Yellowstone’s world-famous geysers, hot springs and other thermal features, said scientist Mike Poland at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
A clog would have caused a buildup of heat and pressure such as happens inside a pressure cooker, he said, until the water suddenly flashed to steam, causing an instantaneous and huge expansion in volume and triggering the explosion.
The largest known crater from a hydrothermal explosion on Earth is in Yellowstone and measures 2.4km (1.5 miles) across, Poland said.
The largest known crater from a hydrothermal explosion on Earth is in Yellowstone and measures 2.4km (1.5 miles) across, Poland said.
“What we saw today was spectacular and definitely hazardous. But on the scale of what the Yellowstone system has done in the past, it was relatively small,” he said.
“It’s a very good reminder of an underappreciated hazard in Yellowstone.”
Yellowstone is centered on a huge, dormant volcano. The hydrothermal explosion did not indicate new activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal levels, according to the US Geological Survey. . ."
WATCH: Biscuit Basin closed in Yellowstone National Park after massive explosion
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK -- Biscuit Basin at Yellowstone National Park is temporarily closed following a massive explosion that was caught on camera Tuesday morning. The "localized hydrothermal explosion" occurred near Sapphire Pool around 10:20 a.m., according to a news release from the park. Video on social media shows a large amount of black and white water shooting into the air at the geyser. The explosion appears to have originated near Black Diamond Pool, the park says.
- Nobody was injured in the explosion and boardwalks in the area were significantly damaged. They, along with the parking lot at Biscuit Basin, are closed for safety reasons.
"Hydrothermal explosions occur when water suddenly flashes to steam underground, and they are relatively common in Yellowstone," the news release says.
"For example, Porkchop Geyser, in Norris Geyser Basin, experienced an explosion in 1989, and a small event in Norris Geyser Basin was recorded by monitoring equipment on Apr. 15, 2024.
- An explosion similar to that of today also occurred in Biscuit Basin on May 17, 2009."
"Hydrothermal explosions like that of today are not a sign of impending volcanic eruptions, and they are not caused by magma rising towards the surface."
EastIdahoNews.com will post updates as we learn more.
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