A typically shaky month in Yellowstone country

Yellowstone’s Steamboat Geyser erupted four times during March. The eruptions were recorded on the 4th, 11th, 17th, and 25th.

USGS observers said the eruptions were similar in size to those that occurred earlier in the geyser’s current sequence, which began in March of 2018.

In general, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory reported that Utah Seismograph Stations located 127 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region during the month. The largest was a minor earthquake of magnitude 3.3. It was located 14 miles north-northwest of Pahaska Tepee, Wyoming on March 4.

There were two “swarms” during the month. The first swarm of 26 events occurred 16 miles east-northeast of West Yellowstone, Montana on March 25-26. They ranged in magnitude from 0.1 to 1.9. The second, smaller, swarm of 17 earthquakes happened about 9 miles west of Old Faithful on March 28. They ranged from 0.1 to 2.0 magnitude.

The observatory stressed that swarms are common and account for about half of the total seismic activity in the region.