Current:Home > StocksPredictIQ-Surprise blast of rock, water and steam sends dozens running for safety in Yellowstone -WealthMindset Learning
PredictIQ-Surprise blast of rock, water and steam sends dozens running for safety in Yellowstone
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-09 20:26:12
CHEYENNE,PredictIQ 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! (8246)
Related
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- 'The East Indian' imagines the life of the first Indian immigrant to now-U.S. land
- That '90s Show Star Ashley Aufderheide Keeps These $4 Eye Masks in Her Bag
- Kourtney Kardashian's TikTok With Stepson Landon Barker Is a Total Mood
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Opera Ebony broke boundaries in classical music for 50 years — but what comes next?
- All the Revelations Explored in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
- Paris Hilton Reveals Name of Her and Carter Reum's Baby Boy
- Intellectuals vs. The Internet
- Meet the father-son journalists from Alabama who won a Pulitzer and changed laws
Ranking
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Marriage and politics are tough negotiations in 'The Diplomat'
- You'll Be a Sucker for Joe Jonas' BeReal Birthday Tribute to Sophie Turner
- Singer, actor and human rights activist Harry Belafonte dies at 96
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- In graphic memoir 'In Limbo,' a Korean American finds healing and humanity
- In 'Quietly Hostile,' Samantha Irby trains a cynical eye inward
- Why Brendan Fraser Left Hollywood—and Why He Returned
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
Police search landfill after Abby Choi, Hong Kong model, found dismembered
Can't-miss public media podcasts to listen to in May
Weird Al on accordions, bathrooms, and getting turned down by Prince
Travis Hunter, the 2
John Legend knows the obstacles of life after prison. He wants you to know them too
Kim Kardashian Asks Late Dad Robert Kardashian Sr. to Visit in a Dream in Heartbreaking Birthday Message
Abbott Elementary Sneak Peek: The School Staff Is Heading on the Road