Yellowstone News and Information

The Misplaced Pearl With new thermal features popping up frequently and old ones experiencing periods of activity and quiescence, have you ever wondered how Yellowstone National Park keeps it all straight? Sometimes it’s tricky!  Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week’s contribution is from Phillip Kondracki and Lauren Harrison in the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University. Biscuit Basin has been in the media spotlight recently due to a hydrothermal explosion that occurred in July 2024 at Black Diamond Pool and smaller events that have occurred since. Unlike geysers, which release pressure through open, though constricted, vents, hydrothermal explosions occur when superheated water suddenly flashes to steam, shattering the confining rock. The result is abrupt and destructive, leaving craters, ejecta , and scars on the landscape. ...