Obviously, many visitors to Yellowstone National Park gape in awe at the roaming bison or the colour of the Grand Prismatic Spring, but few know that the park is standing over a giant supervolcano.
Volcanoes are known to have existed or may exist in regions where colossal volcanic eruptions, with at least 1,000 cubic kilometres of volcanic material being ejected, occurred. The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field covers most of Yellowstone National Park and extends across parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
“While driving south from Mammoth Hot Springs towards Norris Geyser Basin early on Aug. 5 last summer, a park scientist noticed a billowing steam column through the trees and across a marshy expanse,” Yellowstone National Park geologists Jefferson Hungerford and Kiernan Folz-Donahue shared in a blog post.
Geologists confirm new volcanic activity in Yellowstone National Park
While the last known lava flow in the area occurred over 70,000 years ago, Yellowstone remains one of the most geothermally active places on Earth. It is home to more than 10,000 hydrothermal features, including geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles.
{{/usCountry}}While the last known lava flow in the area occurred over 70,000 years ago, Yellowstone remains one of the most geothermally active places on Earth. It is home to more than 10,000 hydrothermal features, including geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles.
{{/usCountry}}“This hydrothermal activity persists through this day but is much less energetic than when it first formed,” Hungerford and Folz-Donahue noted.
However, on March 17, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) revealed that its geologists had identified a newly formed volcanic vent during the summer of 2024.
This vent, which continuously emits steam, was found at the base of a lava flow. Scientists recorded its temperature as scorching 171 degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius), and the vent has remained active for several months.
Upon closer examination, a team of geologists confirmed that this was indeed new. There is also speculation that it may be linked to previous geothermal activity detected in the same region in March 2003.
“One could run a line along the axis of the older active area and it would intersect the new feature. This line also follows the trend of faults that run from Norris Geyser Basin northward to Mammoth Hot Springs and beyond,” Hungerford and Folz-Donahue concluded.