Yellowstone News and Information

By  Yellowstone Volcano Observatory   April 15, 2024 Monument Geyser Basin: A Unique Vapor-Dominated Thermal Area in Yellowstone National Park  Just south of Norris Geyser Basin is a little-visited thermal area called Monument Geyser Basin. The “monuments” there are unique in Yellowstone’s above-water hydrothermal areas and resemble the “black smoker” deposits found at the bottom of the ocean. Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Pat Shanks and Lisa Morgan, research geologist emeriti with the U.S. Geological Survey.        Sources/Usage: Public Domain.  View Media Details View of Monument Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, with one of the  silica  spire "monuments" (from which the basin gets its name) in the foreground. USGS photo by Mike Poland, May 15, 2021. Monument Geyser Basin occurs west ...

  New mud-slinging thermal feature at Yellowstone is spewing scalding hot muck

  Caldera Chronicles   Yellowstone's famous biscuits By  Yellowstone Volcano Observatory   May 15, 2023 Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin hosts the legendary Old Faithful, but it's also home to an isolated thermal group famous for its biscuits.  Though, only a few remain of a large batch that existed prior to 1959.  Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Wendy Stovall, volcanologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Deputy Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park, in about 1887. Bulbous-shaped geyserite knobs around the pool reminded the photographer, Frank Jay Haynes, of biscuits. Biscuit Basin is located three km (two mi) northwest of Old Faithful Village on the western side of the Grand Loop Road. The basin is with...

Hypoliths: Life thriving under the beach-white sinters of Yellowstone's hydrothermal areas While most attention is given to the hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots in Yellowstone’s hydrothermal areas, there are lessons just beneath the surface about how life might have taken shape on Earth billions of years ago. Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Dr. Jeff Havig and Professor Trinity Hamilton, researchers in Plant and Microbial Biology and Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. A s one walks along the boardwalks in one of the many hydrothermal areas in Yellowstone National Park, there is a feast for the senses—the rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulfide, the blasting spray of geysers, the bubbling and boiling water in hot springs, the hiss of gas escaping fumaroles, the low thumping of mud pots, and the dazzlingly bri...

Yellowstone authorities have still not identified floating human foot found in pool 

How might the floods in and around Yellowstone NP influence seismic and hydrothermal activity?

  Caldera chronicles: Why drilling the Yellowstone volcano to stop eruptions or generate power is a bad idea

  Buffalo Bill Exhibit Shows What Lies On Bottom Of Yellowstone Lake

 Why Study Geysers?

  The day that Porkchop Geyser exploded Release Date: June 28, 2021 Small hydrothermal explosions—steam blasts—are common at Yellowstone, occurring every year or two.  Most happen in the backcountry and are not observed by people.  In 1989, however, Porkchop Geyser blew up right in front of several observers on an otherwise sunny September afternoon. 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. Sources/Usage: Public Domain.  View Media Details Porkchop Geyser erupting in August 1989. Norris Geyser Basin  is one of the most unique parts of Yellowstone National Park.  The basin hosts  both acidic and neutral hot springs —a somewhat unusual combination—is ...

  Travertine: Yellowstone’s Hydrothermal Timekeeper Release Date: May 24, 2021 Standing on the boardwalk next to any of Yellowstone’s hot, steamy, vigorously bubbling hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, or geysers, you may be struck by the sheer amount of energy that powers this system, night and day. But how long have these features been active?  To address this question, geologists can turn to the “clock” that is frozen within hydrothermal travertine deposits. Yellowstone  Caldera  Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Lauren Harrison, a postdoctoral researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey. Travertine is a form of limestone composed of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are both made of calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ). In contrast to limestones that are formed in the ocean from the shells of tiny plankton a...