“Hydrothermal explosions are violent and dramatic events resulting in the rapid ejection of boiling water, steam, mud, and rock fragments,” according to the US Geological Survey.
“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 April 15, 2024.
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.”Large hydrothermal explosions occur on an average of every 700 years, the USGS says.
“Although large hydrothermal explosions are rare events on a human time scale, the potential for additional future events of the sort in Yellowstone National Park is not insignificant.
Based on the occurrence of large hydrothermal explosion events over the past 16,000 years, an explosion large enough to create a 100-(meter)- (328-ft-) wide crater might be expected every few hundred years,” it added.
Persons:
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Organizations:
CNN, Geological Survey
Locations:
Yellowstone, Wyoming, Norris, Norris Geyser