Yellowstone News and Information

Oops, it did it again. Another small hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin   By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory June 22, 2026 Early on the morning of Saturday, June 13, 2026, a small hydrothermal explosion occurred at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park. Although smaller than the explosion that occurred in the same area in 2024, it emphasizes the dynamic and hazardous nature of hydrothermal activity in the region. Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Jefferson Hungerford, Park Geologist, and Kiernan Folz-Donahue, Brandon Duktig, Liam Rogers, and Margery Price, all with the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program, as well as Michael Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano O...

Beyond the Bathroom: Top Visitor Questions in Thermal Areas By  Yellowstone Volcano Observatory   May 25, 2026 With the arrival of Memorial Day and the unofficial start of the summer travel season, we take a look at the most common questions that visitors to Yellowstone’s thermal basins ask the park’s interpretive rangers. Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Michael Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, and Mindy Dottellis, interpretive ranger with Yellowstone National Park in 2025. When in a place as otherworldly as Yellowstone, it’s only natural to find yourself brimming with questions at each turn of the trail.  What is this scat I’m seeing?  How does a geyser erupt, anyway?  What makes Yellowstone so special? Where’s the bathroom? Fear not, for...

Mushroom Pool: The subtle spring with the spectacular story By  Yellowstone Volcano Observatory   March 9, 2026 Mushroom Pool is nondescript in appearance, but its impacts on microbiology and on how research is done in Yellowstone National Park have been profound. Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Michael Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Mushroom Pool is a small hot spring in Yellowstone’s Lower Geyser Basin that looms large in science. The spring’s fun(gi) name might have been given in the 1890s due to its appearance or the presence of algae and bacteria. Media Sources/Usage: Public Domain.  View Media Details Mushroom Pool, Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park. Old roads were routed very near this feature as early as 1895, when the poo...

Was there ever a Yellowstone on Mars?  By  Yellowstone Volcano Observatory   November 24, 2025 Yellowstone is not just a fantastic natural laboratory for Earth-based studies.  A better understanding of hydrothermal activity in the first National Park can also provide clues about what Mars might have looked like long ago. Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.  This week's contribution is from R. Greg Vaughan, research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and Steve Ruff,   associate research professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University. Today, Mars is a cold and dry planet with a very thin, low-pressure atmosphere.  It has water, but it's all frozen, locked up in underground ice (like permafrost) and in polar ice caps.  But billions of years ago Mars had a thicker atmosphere and a warmer and wetter clima...