Yellowstone National Park on EARTH Magazine

Eavesdropping on Old Faithful

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 11:49:33 -0400

Old Faithful's hourly eruptions can usually be predicted to within a 10-minute window. Credit: Mary Caperton Morton.

The Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park has erupted predictably within a 10-minute window every hour for more than 150 years, but the inner workings that power its regular 30-meter-high eruptive plumes are largely still a mystery. Recent monitoring of the gusher is revealing new secrets about its plumbing system, which may help the National Park Service plan for future infrastructure expansions around the popular attraction.

Blogging on EARTH: A letter from field camp

Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:30:37 -0400

Bryce Mitsunaga at field camp in Montana. Bryce Mitsunaga

The 2013 University of Houston-YBRA field camp participants exploring glacial features atop the Beartooth Range. Bryce Mitsunaga

University of Houston-YBRA field camp, summer 2013. Bryce Mitsunaga

Learning the basics of mapping includes how to take a strike and dip. Bryce Mitsunaga

Bryce Mitsunaga, a recent graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., is currently attending field camp at the Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Association camp located in the Beartooth Mountain Range outside of Red Lodge, Mont. In honor of EARTH's August feature on field camps, Bryce wrote in with some reflections on his experiences so far.

Benchmarks: August 17, 1959: Hebgen Lake earthquake and landslide

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Disrupted ground and trees of a landslide caused by the Hebgen Lake earthquake. U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

The Madison River landslide rode across the valley at speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour and up the opposite valley wall. The leading edge, shown here, is the white ridge of dolomite boulders. U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

A large dolomite boulder on the east side of the Madison River landslide, with Earthquake Lake in the background. U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

A fault scarp near Red Canyon Creek in Montana shows a 5.7-meter displacement from the earthquake. U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

Highway 287, near Hebgen Lake, was fractured in the earthquake. U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

A barn collapsed by the fault scarp extending from the foreground through the barn and across the stream. U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

You’re camping in Montana, doing some fly fishing on the Madison River. You’ve had a full day of beautiful Big Sky country weather, and had fresh trout for dinner. In your campsite at the Rock Creek Campground, you go to bed satisfied and happy. It’s a nice enough evening that you sleep out in the open, to better appreciate the stars. The waters of the Madison gurgle by, gently lulling you to sleep while Orion shines above.

Swarm of earthquakes rattles Yellowstone

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Yellowstone's Excelsior Geyser, in the Midway & Lower Geyser Basin, erupts in July 2001. Jim Peaco, courtesy of the National Park Service

Yellowstone Falls, Wyoming USGS Photo by David E. Wieprecht

An abnormally high number of earthquakes has shaken up Yellowstone National Park in the past week. Since Friday, a “swarm” of more than 250 low-magnitude, shallow quakes has repeatedly rattled an area under Yellowstone Lake, with the highest-magnitude tremor — a magnitude-3.9 quake — on Saturday. The seismic activity has raised fears that the quakes may foreshadow a larger earthquake, or a volcanic eruption — but scientists say there isn’t yet reason to fear an eruption.

USGS fights false Yellowstone warning

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

Blogging on EARTH

Unsubstantial warnings don’t fly with the U.S. Geological Survey. Following the recent swarms of earthquakes at Yellowstone, the website www.worldwaterplan.com issued a “legitimate-looking” warning using the USGS logo that suggested immediate evacuation. USGS says the warning is bogus, and now the government is pursuing legal action against the site’s creator.