Current:Home > ScamsSurprise blast of rock, water and steam sends dozens running for safety in Yellowstone -Clarity Finance Guides
Surprise blast of rock, water and steam sends dozens running for safety in Yellowstone
View
Date:2025-04-15 07:24:52
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A surprise eruption that shot steam, water and dark-colored rock and dirt dozens of feet into the sky Tuesday sent people running for safety in Yellowstone National Park.
The hydrothermal explosion happened around 10 a.m. in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles (3.2 kilometers) north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.
Video posted online showed a couple dozen people watching from a boardwalk as the eruption sprayed and grew in front of them. As water and debris began to fall, they ran to keep clear, some yelling “Back up!” and “Holy cow!” People then turned to watch the spectacle under a huge cloud of steam.
The eruption damaged the boardwalk, an elevated wooden walkway that keeps people off Yellowstone’s fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas. Photos and video of the aftermath showed damaged guardrails and boards covered in rock and silt near muddy pools.
No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety, according to a U.S. Geological Survey statement.
A hydrothermal explosion happens when water suddenly flashes to steam underground. Such blasts are relatively common in Yellowstone.
Similar blasts have happened in Biscuit Basin in 2009, 1991 and after the magnitude 7.2 Hebgen Lake earthquake 40 miles (64 kilometers) away in 1959.
Dramatic as it was, the latest was on the small side, according to the statement.
Scientists theorize that a series of hydrothermal explosions created Mary Bay on the northeastern side of Yellowstone Lake some 13,800 years ago. At 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) wide, Mary Bay is the world’s largest known hydrothermal explosion crater.
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 Geological Survey.
___
Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.
veryGood! (38181)
Related
- Trump's 'stop
- Britain's King Charles III seeks treatment for enlarged prostate, Buckingham Palace says
- Reviewers Say These 21 Genius Products Actually Helped Them Solve Gross Problems
- Chiefs vs. Bills playoff game weather forecast: Is any snow expected in Buffalo?
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Texas defies federal demand that it abandon border area, setting up legal showdown
- Wizards of Waverly Place's Selena Gomez and David Henrie Are Teaming Up For a Sequel
- Prince William visits his wife, Kate, in hospital after her abdominal surgery
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- 'Freud's Last Session' star Anthony Hopkins analyzes himself: 'How did my life happen?'
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Japan signs agreement to purchase 400 Tomahawk missiles as US envoy lauds its defense buildup
- What does this IRS code mean on my tax refund? Codes 826, 846, 570 and more explained.
- 1st Nevada Republican Senate primary debate won’t feature front-runner backed by national party
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Texas coach Rodney Terry calls UCF players 'classless' for doing 'Horns Down' gesture
- Mississippi legislators consider incentives for a factory that would make EV batteries
- Justice Department report details the how the shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, unfolded
Recommendation
Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
Sofia Vergara sheds Modern Family image for new role as notorious drug lord in Griselda
Christina Applegate, who has MS, gets standing ovation at Emmys
Israeli strike kills 16 in southern Gaza; no word on whether medicines reached hostages
Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
Texas coach Rodney Terry calls UCF players 'classless' for doing 'Horns Down' gesture
Reviewers Say These 21 Genius Products Actually Helped Them Solve Gross Problems
Monty Python meets George Santos in revitalized 'Spamalot' Broadway musical