Yellowstone National Park‘s Biscuit Basin has been quite active lately. On June 13th, another larger hydrothermal explosion reshaped the nearby landscape and triggered ongoing geological activity, sparking further monitoring from scientists with newly deployed equipment. That newly deployed equipment caught a fair amount of activity leading up to June 18th, but the eruptions went quiet after that.
Yesterday, June 23rd, the explosions kicked off once again, this time sending a plume of steam and dirty water several meters into the air. It occurred at around 8:51am on Tuesday and was the first observed eruption from the new pool of boiling water created by last week’s explosion since the several pules of smaller spouting that ended on June 18th.
The larger June 13th explosion occurred around 5:09am MDT was captured by a remote camera along with nearby seismic and infrasound instruments. The blast occurred in a barren area just north of Black Diamond Pool, the same area in which a larger hydrothermal explosion occurred on June 23rd, 2024. It opened three new vent areas, including a 18.5 meter (61-foot) fissure filled with boiling water.
A circular collapse feature formed in the affected area within two or three days of the explosion, filling with near-boiling water and creating geyser-like spouting reaching 6-9 meters. Biscuit Basin currently remains closed to the public.
