Should we worry about Steamboat Geyser?
The world famous Steamboat Geyser is catching the attention of those locally and around the world.
Steamboat Geyser is known as the tallest active geyser in the world, and eruptions don’t happen very often. In the last six weeks, the park has seen the geyser erupt three times.
According to Yellowstone National Park Geologist, The last activity recorded showed the geyser erupted around 6:30 am Friday morning.
What do these eruptions mean for us?
Michael Poland, Scientist-In-Charge at the USGS office for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, says, “Honestly, they mean nothing- Geysers are supposed to erupt. Just because Steamboat erupted three times in six weeks- that is nothing particularly special- it’s unusual for Steamboat. If you go back to 1982-84, it erupted tens of times during that span.”
The Geyser is located in the Norris Geyser basin of the park- which is approximately 100 miles from Idaho Falls. Major eruptions have been known to reach heights over 300 feet, but the minor eruptions are more common – Lasting up to four minutes and reach heights of up to 40 feet. The last time scientist recorded multiple eruptions was back in 2003.
If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of this geyser erupting, you will have to wait until the snow melts and the trails reopen. If you are one of the lucky ones to catch this sight, your videos and photos to us HERE.
