Yellowstone Hydrothermal Blast Carves 21-Foot Pool as New Vents Spout Water 30 Feet High
Updated
Updated · Cowboy State Daily · Jun 23
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Blast Carves 21-Foot Pool as New Vents Spout Water 30 Feet High
3 articles · Updated · Cowboy State Daily · Jun 23
Summary
A June 13 hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin left a new 21-foot-wide boiling pool, a 60-foot fissure and several near-boiling vents about 100 feet from Black Diamond Pool.
Geologists said the blast came from water flashing to steam in a confined space; the new vents drained enough hot, silty water into the Firehole River to turn it milky white for miles downstream.
Weeks later, many vents have already dried up, the crater still boils, and its brief geyser-like spouting—seen reaching 30 feet—has not been observed since June 18.
Black Diamond Pool appears largely unchanged, reinforcing scientists’ view that Yellowstone’s hydrothermal explosions are highly local even within the same thermal basin.
Because the blast occurred within 400 feet of dense seismic, acoustic and temperature monitors installed after the July 2024 Biscuit Basin explosion, researchers hope the data may reveal rare warning signs for future events.