Steamboat geyser eruption reported at Yellowstone

Yellowstone National Park employees reported seeing an eruption of Steamboat Geyser Thursday night.

Park officials compared the sightings with remote USGS thermal sensors. Park geologists believe the activity could be a series of minor eruptions.

Steamboat’s last major eruption was on September 3, 2014. Its minor and major eruptions are entirely unpredictable.

Located in the Norris Geyser Basin, Steamboat is the world’s tallest active geyser. Its major eruptions can shoot water more than 300 feet. In Yellowstone, only two other geysers have exceeded Steamboat in size. They were the Excelsior Geyser in the Midway Geyser Basin and the Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin.

Park officials said USGS sensors are currently off-line. Staff will be troubleshooting that equipment Friday and could deploy new devices.