Caldera Chronicles

Yellowstone has been a site of persistent volcanic activity for over 2 million years. But what did the region look like before the volcanoes started...

Yellowstone National Park is famous for its wildlife and geothermal activity. When we explore the intersection of these two natural grandeurs, we find...

What happened to the cinders that used to float atop Cinder Pool in the One Hundred Spring Plain area of Norris Geyser Basin?

The Stanley earthquake rattled Idaho in 2020.  Geologists have spent the past four years learning more about the fault that caused the quake—including...

Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest on-land geyser basin within Yellowstone National Park, with a wide diversity of thermal feature chemistry and...

To mark the demise of the webcam that provided views of Yellowstone Lake since 2017, let’s take a look back the history of YVO webcams in Yellowstone...

At the tops of many mountains and along numerous roads across the USA are small brass disks called benchmarks.  These survey points are critical for...

Geologists from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory are often asked to estimate how likely future eruptions are at Yellowstone, but it’s no walk in...

Although not as famous as Old Faithful Geyser or Grand Prismatic Spring, the features of West Thumb Geyser Basin are some of the most varied and...

At the beginning of 2024, the water level at Nuphar Lake, near Norris Geyser Basin was on the rise. By the end of that summer, however, the water has...

Geologists can use cosmic rays from outer space to piece together the timing of past geologic events, like volcanic eruptions and glaciations. But how...

A new satellite is set to launch in a few months and could provide new views of how the ground moves at Yellowstone. But the data will need to be...

Airborne thermal infrared imaging is an important way to track hydrothermal activity in Yellowstone.  The first such images were acquired in 1961.

Building roads through Yellowstone is a considerable undertaking given all the thermal ground found throughout the park. Bridges, like the new span...

Between Norris Geyser Basin and Mammoth Hot Springs is an interesting thermal area known as Roaring Mountain.  These days, it is quieter than it used...

Earthquakes that rupture the ground surface leave behind the telltale signature of fault scarps, which provide clues about seismic activity in the...

What did the Yellowstone landscape look like after one of its large caldera-forming eruptions? Clues from crystals suggest it might have resembled...

Hydrothermal explosions, like that which occurred on July 23, 2024, in Biscuit Basin, are not just a hazard that occurs in Yellowstone.

With over 10,000 thermal features, Yellowstone is covered from A to Z. Well, almost…

In July 2024, a hydrothermal explosion at Black Diamond Pool sent muddy water and rocks hundreds of feet into the air. It’s far from the first time a...