We Were Lucky, Says Yellowstone Geologists

By now most of us have seen the video of the explosion at Yellowstone National Park.

Geologists have been weighing in on why this event occurred.

You can watch a full explanation from a Yellowstone geologist in the video below.

Turns out we were lucky.

These events can be MUCH bigger.

However, what happened recently has nothing to do with a major eruption of a supervolcano.

In the video below a geologist looks at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park.

Kaboom! Visitors witnessed a towering plume of steam, rock, and mud rise several hundred feet into the air.

The brief July 23 event was a classic example of a hydrothermal explosion, not a volcanic eruption.

And with all the hot water circulating in the subsurface of this active volcano.

It’s no surprise that hydrothermal explosions are Yellowstone’s most common geologic hazard.

In the video below Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, talks about this previously underappreciated hazard and how it recently gained a little more respect.

Hydrothermal explosions in Yellowstone can be huge, leaving craters that are hundreds of feet across.

That's what we mean by "we were lucky this time". The tourists that were standing on that boardwalk were very lucky.

The largest hydrothermal explosion known to man occurred in Yellowstone, leaving a hole 1.5 miles across.

That hole is now a corner of a lake called Mary Bay.

Smaller events like the one we just witnessed happen up to 3 times a year.

But they typically occur in the backcountry, far away from where anyone can witness them.

Believe it or not, despite all of the tourists, most of Yellowstone never sees any humans. It's a big place.