YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming – It’s been a few months since a massive hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park’s Biscuit Basin shocked the world, but scientists are still learning a lot from observations made before and after the event. The USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory provides monthly updates on activity inside the park, and those updates continue to include more information on the explosion. Scientist-in-charge Mike Poland shares the updates, including that there may have been a precursor surge prior to the explosion.
At this point, Biscuit Basin is still closed to the public, despite the explosion occurring months ago. Though no one was injured in the explosion, the Biscuit Basin boardwalks were greatly damaged, and USGS and NPS geologists have been assessing changes to the areas shallow hydrothermal system.
“Yellowstone National Park has closed Biscuit Basin for the remainder of the 2024 season for visitor safety. Grand Loop Road remains open to vehicles, and other nearby thermal basins, like Black Sand Basin, are open. Additional Yellowstone National Park information about visitor access can be found at https://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm.“