An eruption sending water hundreds of feet into the air rocked Biscuit Basin in this park on Tuesday, leading to the area’s closure and sending park visitors scurrying for cover. It was one of the biggest geysers, and maybe the loudest, to erupt in Yellowstone in nearly 10 years – a reminder of the park’s usually-pacified but still-volatile geothermal activity.

The eruption took place around 10:30 AM local time, shooting a column of water, steam and debris high in to the air. Patrons were able to film the eruption, capturing tourists apparently oblivious at the beginning of the video, suddenly needing to take cover as the geyser went off.

The response from park officials was rapid. They evacuated the area and closed the boardwalks that loop through Biscuit Basin. No injuries were reported but the eruption devastated the landscape, ejecting rocks and charring vegetation.

The Biscuit Basin is a famous thermal area in the Upper Geyser Basin, full of multi-coloured pools with an even higher concentration of active geysers. While geyser activity is not rare in Yellowstone, nothing else like Mamers erupted that day. The event shocked both visitors and park staff.

The exact trigger for a geothermal eruption remains unknown in this case, though geologists believe the system was primed by the continuous movement of molten rock below the surface, which results in the episodic evolution of the Yellowstone geothermal system.

This incident highlights that these Yellowstone geothermal features are essentially live volcanic springs, though they may not look like it, and that there is an inherent risk in approaching them. Park officials have not yet announced when Biscuit Basin will reopen, as it is still in the assessment phase, and ensure the safety of visitors and park infrastructure. 

The eruption has also brought new attention to the science that powers Yellowstone’s geysers and to the ongoing monitoring efforts that seek to learn from them, watch for warning signs, and avert calamity. For now, and the foreseeable future, the park is battening down the hatches against the next geothermally charged episode.

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