Caldera Chronicles

What is the difference between an active volcano, a dormant volcano, and an extinct volcano?  It can be a confusing way to describe volcanic activity...

Continuous GPS stations in Yellowstone National Park measure minute ground movements, aiding in monitoring the volcanic system. But by analyzing the...

Today we celebrate the life and career of Robert Christiansen (1935-2022), the first Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, a...

Did you know that Africa is home to more than 100 active volcanoes, including one with a lava lake that produces some of the most fluid lava flows on...

Perhaps you’ve heard the legend of the melting roads in Yellowstone National Park.  The rumor is based in truth but, as you might expect, badly...

Many people assume that earthquakes at Yellowstone are due to magma and the region “heating up.” It turns out that most Yellowstone seismicity is...

Thermal infrared images tell us how much thermal energy is being emitted from the Earth’s surface.  But how does this work, and how are these images...

Surficial geologic mapping by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) has shed light on geologically young faults in the Jackson Lake area, just...

What goes into making a geologic map?  Follow along as geologists investigate a perplexing incongruity in adjoining geologic maps in the north part of...

Sediment cores show that Yellowstone Lake has been a site of repeated hydrothermal explosions over the last 13,000 years. Clues hidden in that...

The Hebgen Lake earthquake is the largest to have struck the Intermountain West region of the United States. High-resolution topographic data from...

The thick ash deposits from past large Yellowstone explosive eruptions are well known, and can be seen throughout the region.  But there are also...

Summer 2023 marks 146 years since the flight of the Nez Perce, when an indigenous tribe crossed Yellowstone in an attempt to reach Canada and during a...

Yellowstone has numerous hot springs, but not all of them boil at the same temperature. This is because the boiling temperature depends on the...

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory recently published a monitoring plan for better understanding and tracking earthquake, magmatic, and hydrothermal...

You’ve probably heard about the record flooding that took place in Yellowstone on June 10–13, 2022, but did you ever think if the many seismometers in...

Last week, flooding at Yellowstone caused catastrophic damage in the region, destroying homes, roads, and bridges, and isolating entire communities...

Studies of sediment on the floor of Yellowstone Lake reveal a dynamic history marked by some of the largest-known hydrothermal explosions on Earth...

Yellowstone National Park is known for its impressive thermal features and abundant wildlife, including bears, wolves, and bison. But did you know the...

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory consortium recently held its first in-person meeting in 4 years.  The workshop provided a chance not only to...