# Yellowstone's Steamboat geyser erupts



## Passepartout (Aug 1, 2013)

For the first time in 8 years, Steamboat Geyser- the world's highest- has erupted, spewing steam 200-300 feet high. http://home.cableone.net/news/read/category/us/article/ap-yellowstones_steamboat_geyser_sees_rare-ap

I've only seen it gurgling and percolating maybe 10-15 foot splashes. It would be fantastic to see it in all it's glory, but has to be almost the ultimate 'right time at the right place' event.

Jim


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## PStreet1 (Aug 1, 2013)

It may be going into a new cycle; they never know until it does or doesn't.


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## easyrider (Aug 1, 2013)

We saw Old Faithful blow on Monday and I have to admit it was kind of cool. In fact I would say Yellowstone is a very beautiful place and I want to go back.


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## GregGH (Aug 1, 2013)

Be careful what you wish for ...  

http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/supervolcano-yellowstones-fury.html

the video says it is only available within Canada 

here is a youtube 3 min intro .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQecUvkOC_8

Here is info from cbc.ca 

For over a century, tens of millions of visitors have marveled at the natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park, home to the largest concentration of geysers in the world, including the iconic Old Faithful.  However, beneath all this beauty lurks a beast.

Visitors may not realize it, but Yellowstone is situated directly above one of the largest volcanic systems on Earth - a supervolcano.  *For the past two million years, this volcano has erupted roughly every 600,000 years.  The last major eruption, which produced a caldera that stretches 80 kilometers by 50 kilometers across the park – two-thirds the size of Prince Edward Island - occurred 640,000 years ago.  So, is it overdue for another eruption?*

There have been disturbing signals...possible warnings of another eruption that have scientists concerned.  Recent earthquake swarms, coupled with the increasing size of the magma chamber and the enormous plume of molten rock that liquefies and feeds the chamber underneath Yellowstone, have put scientists on high alert for another possible volcanic eruption.


Ash covering a village
Find out how the eruption would effect parts of North America.
A super volcanic eruption from Yellowstone would be immense - producing energy equivalent to the detonation of 1,000 nuclear bombs, it would emit one thousand cubic kilometers of ash, which is enough volume to fill the Grand Canyon twice.

Supervolcano: Yellowstone’s Fury examines the effect a cataclysmic eruption would have on the world and what could possibly be done to prepare for such a disaster.  An eruption on this scale would be the largest natural disaster in recorded history.  It could trigger a volcanic winter, kill millions of people and make most of North America uninhabitable.  New York University Earth Scientist Michael Rampino warns that, “An eruption like Yellowstone could trigger the end of civilization as we know it.”

For experts, the question is not if there will be another eruption, but when.  University of Toronto geologist John Westgate agrees: “There will be a very large-scale supervolcanic eruption from Yellowstone.  That’s a fact.”

Regards

Greg H


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Aug 1, 2013)

GregGH said:


> Be careful what you wish for ...
> 
> http://www.cbc.ca/doczone/episode/supervolcano-yellowstones-fury.html
> 
> ...


Yeah - I've posted about that several times. Yellowstone is the most dangerous and explosive volcano on earth.  It has the capability of creating an event that could kill about 90% of the life on earth.  And we are right in it's recurrence interval.

In the map below, that U-shaped scar in southern Idaho that slices right through the Rocky Mountains is the trace left by the Yellowstone Volcano.  It's a hot spot in the earth's crust and the North American continent is moving to the west over it.  

To give you some sense of the magnitude.  The width of that scar is the width of the caldera - the hole in the earth's crust that forms after the volcano erupts.    It's wider than the Central Valley in California.  In contrast Mt. St. Helen's is just a dot on the map.  When the Yellowstone Volcano blows,  Mt. St. Helens in comparison is like a hiccup.


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## Passepartout (Aug 1, 2013)

We had a great couple of weeks exploring the caldera both in Yellowstone and nearby at Island Park- and seeing the wildlife. Both of which are the remains of 'supervolcanos'.  Idaho is above a series of volcanic events over the last million or so years and occurring until as recently as 5,000 years ago. Relatively fresh lava flows can be seen and walked on at Craters of the Moon Nat'l Monument http://www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm Astronauts to the moon trained here and tried out vehicles and equipment. 

As we pulled out of the caldera to head home, I told DW, "Well, it didn't blow up this time, either. Maybe it (and we) will be here for another year".

Jim


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## MuranoJo (Aug 1, 2013)

Here's another video I found on UTube.  (A few of the previous video links said they were no longer available for me.)  However, one of the previous links had an interesting tab section which shows the various areas and how far they'd reach.  

I do remember your posting of this a few times before, Steve.  In fact, that's when I first found out about this years ago.


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## Rose Pink (Aug 2, 2013)

We took the family to Yellowstone in August 1998.  I don't know which area we stopped in but a geyser started to erupt.  A park ranger rushed over and shooed people back from the walkway.  Apparently, this particular one hadn't erupted in years.  You just never know.


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