Large hydrothermal explosion caught on camera in Yellowstone National Park

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (KIFI) - Video on Facebook shows an intense explosion at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park Tuesday morning.

The video posted by Vlada March shows tourist walking the boardwalk when an eruption threw rock and debris over them.

Yellowstone National Park posted the Biscuit Basin is closed due to the hydrothermal explosion.

The explosion happened Tuesday, July 23 at 10:19 a.m. near the Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin. The Basin is located just north of Old Faithful.

No injuries were reported.

Park staff are monitoring conditions and will reopen the area once it is deemed safe, they said.

Yellowstone officials reported hydrothermal explosions occur when water suddenly flashes to steam underground, and they are relatively common in Yellowstone.  For example, Porkchop Geyser, in Norris Geyser Basin, experienced an explosion in 1989, and a small event in Norris Geyser Basin was recorded by monitoring equipment on April 15, 2024.  An explosion similar to that of today also occurred in Biscuit Basin on May 17, 2009. 

Officials said there does not appear to be signs of an imminent volcanic eruption.