Latest news with #thermalpool
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Travel + Leisure
19-07-2025
- Travel + Leisure
Scientists Just Discovered a New Natural Wonder at Yellowstone National Park—What to Know
A brand-new discovery in a popular national park has 'explosive' beginnings. Geologists in Yellowstone National Park recently discovered a new thermal pool, likely formed by a hydrothermal explosion, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The stunning crater, which has pale blue water and is surrounded by rocks covered in light-gray sandy mud, was discovered during routine maintenance of temperature logging stations in the area. Scientists said the new feature appeared to have formed over the course of multiple small explosions and likely started to develop on Christmas Day 2024 with "further activity" continuing in mid-to-late January and early February. The pool sits at about 13 feet across with the water measured at a steamy 109 degrees Fahrenheit. A new thermal feature in Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. 'The latest new thermal feature in Norris Geyser Basin—perhaps the most dynamic area in Yellowstone National Park—demonstrates the spectrum of ways in which hydrothermal features evolve," according to the USGS. "Some form during brief and violent episodes of change. Others may take shape far more gradually, like the new feature... that seems to have begun taking shape on Christmas 2024." High-resolution satellite images show the development of the new thermal pool starting in December 2024 before growing into a small depression by early January and then finally revealing itself as fully-formed by Feb. 13. 'The rocks and white material (silica mud) surrounding the pool were probably ejected as the feature formed,' the report revealed. Hydrothermal explosions are somewhat common throughout Yellowstone National Park, the USGS noted. In fact, the Biscuit Basin trail head is still closed following an explosion that occurred there in July 2024. The area sits near the popular tourist destination, Old Faithful. This most recent hydrothermal explosion resulted in a new natural wonder, but in some cases, the explosions can be deadly. In El Salvador, an explosion in 1990 resulted in more than 20 combined deaths and injuries, according to a report from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. More than 4.74 million people visited Yellowstone National Park in 2024, according to the National Park Service, a 44% increase compared to the total number of visitors in 2022. There's no one good time to visit the park, but travelers who go in the warmer months (typically from mid-April to the end of October) will find amazing camping and hiking with most of the park's roads open. Travelers who head to the park in the winter will find fewer crowds and plenty of snowy adventures, including the chance to traverse the park on skis, snowshoes, or by snowmobile.
Gizmodo
15-07-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
There's a Strange New Hole in Yellowstone National Park
Last April, geologists conducting routine maintenance at temperature logging stations in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin found something unexpected: a previously undocumented thermal pool of blue water. The newly identified pool, found in the Porcelain Basin subbasin, is about 13 feet (4 meters) wide, its idyllic blue water is around 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), and the water's surface sits about one foot (30 centimeters) below the rim of the pool, according to a United States Geological Survey statement. The geologists found light-gray mud-covered rocks, including rocks up to one foot wide (30 cm), surrounding the pool. How did this feature form? According to the geologists, the clues actually paint a relatively clear picture: the pool likely resulted from a hydrothermal explosion—when liquid water turns to steam and causes underground pressure changes, creating a steam blast. Hydrothermal explosions are not uncommon at Norris Geyser Basin, which has experienced similar events before. Well-documented ones include the 1989 explosion of Porkchop Geyser. More recently, a new monitoring station installed in 2023 detected an explosion in the Porcelain Terrace area on April 15, 2024. Satellite imagery shows that the new pool did not exist before December 19, 2024. By January 6, 2025, a small cavity had begun to take shape, and on February 13, the water pool had fully formed. However, the recently installed monitoring station—which detects hydrothermal activity via infrasound (extremely low-frequency sound waves)—did not register any strong or distinct explosions during that time. It did, though, detect a number of weak acoustic signals from the direction of the pool, including on December 25, 2024, January 15, 2025, and February 11, 2025, but without an associated seismic signal that would normally accompany a strong explosion. As such, the pool likely formed after a number of smaller explosions chucked out rocks and silica mud, as opposed to a single big event. Silica-rich water then filled the resulting hole. The activity probably started on December 25, 2024, and continued in January and early February of this year. Norris Geyser Basin is the oldest and most active thermal area in Yellowstone and hosts the tallest geyser—a sporadically explosive hot water spring—on Earth. Yellowstone itself has over 10,000 thermal features, such as geysers, hot springs, steam vents, and mudpots, which attract tourists and scientists alike from all over the globe. The thermal activity is driven by an underground magma reservoir (part of the giant Yellowstone volcano complex), which heats up groundwater and triggers a series of chemical and physical reactions. Ultimately, the finding shows that even the most studied landscapes can still surprise us.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Explosion warnings at Yellowstone as popular tourist spot is closed for summer
A popular Yellowstone National Park attraction will remain closed to summer tourists as scientists monitor a rogue thermal pool that might blast again after a major explosion last July. Biscuit Basin, a popular attraction among tourists that is usually packed with visitors has been sealed off from the public since a massive explosion in July, 2024, and will remain closed during the summer season. Biscuit Basin, located just north of Old Faithful, erupted at around 10 in the morning last summer, sending a massive plume of boiling water and debris shooting into the sky - soaring hundreds of feet into the air. The dramatic blast completely destroyed the wooden boardwalk and left tourists running for safety. Miraculously, no one was injured but scientists call it one of the most powerful hydrothermal explosions in the area's recorded history. Now, given the basin's unpredictable history, scientists are unsure when or if it will blast again. 'Since the July 23, 2024, explosion, Biscuit Basin has been closed to public visitation as Yellowstone National Park assesses damage and the potential for future hazardous events,' a released stated by Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. 'We were fortunate that no one was injured during what was clearly a spectacular event,' Mike Poland, scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory told the Cowboy State Daily. 'We don't have enough information to know how Black Diamond pool is going to behave going forward,' he added. Biscuit Basin, a popular attraction among tourists that is usually packed with visitors has been sealed off from the public for the entire summer season following a massive explosion in July, 2024 'We know from seismic data and eyewitnesses that there have been small bursts from Black Diamond Pool since the big explosion last July.' 'The problem is that we don't have any really good observations or documentation of these events, so that's why we installed this webcam.' The power behind these explosions comes from a deadly combination of superheated water and restricted underground plumbing that creates a pressure cooker effect beneath the earth's surface. Poland revealed that rocks blasted from the pool during July's explosion showed evidence of being 'cemented together' by silica deposits that had been building up for years. 'All of the rocks that we looked at that came out as part of that explosion showed evidence of being solidified,' he told the outlet. Miraculously no one was injured but scientists call it one of the most powerful hydrothermal explosions in the area's recorded history 'They were cemented together by silica deposited out of the hot water in Black Diamond Pool.' This essentially created an underground cork that trapped enormous pressure until it finally gave way and ended with the massive explosion. 'Silica is impermeable,' he said. 'When you build up a layer of silica, it acts like a container, sealing pressure in.' 'That's what happened to drive the explosion back in July. The pool sealed itself by depositing all the silica in areas, which allowed pressure to build and eventually generate the explosion.' Last year's explosion wasn't the first at Black Diamond Pool. On November 5, 2024, scientists collecting gas samples witnessed another violent outburst, while a winter tour group witnessed yet another eruption on January 3, 2025. But last year's was the largest in recorded history. 'The plumbing system was blown apart by that big event, but we still don't understand what the plumbing system looks like now and how it might have evolved since that big event,' Poland told the outlet. 'That's what the monitoring in the Biscuit Basin specifically aims to see.'
