The world’s tallest geyser is erupting unpredictably in Yellowstone Park, and scientists can’t explain why
The Steamboat Geyser sits atop a 70km-wide supervolcano, but scientists say there is no evidence a major volcanic eruption is imminent
The Steamboat Geyser at Yellowstone National Park can spout more than 90 metres of scalding water into the air, a feature of the world’s tallest active geyser. That is known.
What isn’t known is why is the geyser has erupted three times in the past six weeks, including one event on Friday in an unusual pattern that hasn’t occurred since 2003.
Though scientists say the reasons for the spate of eruptions is unclear, officials with Yellowstone Volcano Observatory cautioned that the geyser activity is not a sign of impending doom.
“There is nothing to indicate that any sort of volcanic eruption is imminent,” said the observatory scientist in charge, Michael Poland. The last eruption was 70,000 years ago, and there are no signs of another one, including the recent Steamboat activity, he said Sunday.
Geysers are the result of magma heating water that has seeped into the ground, triggering an eruption of liquid through vents in the earth surface for as long as dozens of minutes, followed by billowing steam that may last days.