Tsunami-like Waves May Trigger Next Massive Yellowstone Explosion

"You would not want to be here when this occurred."

Lisa Morgan, U.S. Geological Survey.

One of the USA’s greatest tourist destinations, Yellowstone National Park is more than just the home of Old Faithful. Yellowstone lies atop the world's largest volcano, the massive Yellowstone Caldera (a volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption) which measures in at 55 kilometers by 72 kilometers.

So it is not surprising that fears of a supermassive volcanic eruption occurring are not far from locals minds.

But many are now starting to believe that the fears should not be directed towards the volcanic, but more towards the hydrothermal activity that the region is known for.

]Lisa Morgan of the U.S. Geological Survey recently stepped before a gathering of scientists at the Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone, and presented her findings that tsunami-like waves may have been the catalyst for the world’s largest known hydrothermal explosion, the explosion that created the Mary Bay crater.

Morgan explained that over the last 14,000 years there have been 20 hydrothermal explosions within what is now Yellowstone. Many of the craters left behind are larger than football fields, including the Mary Bay crater that stretches more than one mile across the northern edge of Yellowstone Lake. Other crater locations are Turbid Lake and Indian Pond.

Hydrothermal explosions take place when superheated water below the grounds surface, are allowed the room to expand. Once the pressure is removed from the superheated water, it will flash to steam and expand. Given the right amounts of water and the right conditions, such a “flash” could create a substantial explosion.

While smaller explosions, mostly harmless to visitors, happen every few years or so, the larger ones occur only about every 700 years. It is these larger ones that have left behind the world’s largest craters as a result of hydrothermal explosions that scientists are trying to understand.

At Mary Bay, Morgan believes that there were at least 2 massive waves of water that caused the explosion. Evidence of these waves has been found more than 3 miles north of the lake’s edge, she said. The subsequent explosion would have reached more than a mile in to the air, and spread debris over a 18 square mile area.

Posted by Josh Hill.

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Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Report (1/14/08):

Earthquake activity in the Yellowstone region is within
background levels and GPS data show continued uplift in
the current inflation cycle.

Earthquake Summary: During the month of December 2007,
184 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone region.
The largest of these shocks was a magnitude 3.6 on
December 30, 2007 at 8:29 PM MST, located about 11
miles north of Madison Junction, YNP, and 11 miles
northeast of West Yellowstone,MT. The shock was felt
in Yellowstone National Park, West Yellowstone MT,
and in other areas of western Montana. The main
shock was followed by 39 aftershocks of magnitude
-0.5 to 2.4. An additional earthquake swarm occurred
December 18 to 21 that was located about 7 miles
northwest of West Yellowstone, MT. This sequence had
48 events ranging from magnitude -0.1 to 2.4.