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Webcam captures muddy eruption at Yellowstone
Footage released by the USGS shows mud spraying up out of Black Diamond Pool at the Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park. Credit: USGS Volcanoes via Storyful
A muddy eruption took place in Yellowstone National Park Saturday morning at Black Diamond Pool.
The occurrence was captured on rare video.
Video perspective:
Video shared by the USGS on social media shows mud spraying up and out from the pool just before 9:23 a.m. in Biscuit Basin about midway between park favorites Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic.
Other recent eruptions have mostly been audible and not visible, because they happened either at night or when the camera was obscured by ice.
What they're saying:
"We got a nice clear view of one of these dirty eruptions under bright blue skies with the surroundings covered in snow (ah, winter in Yellowstone!)," USGS Volcanoes said on social media, noting that it was a great example of the kind of activity that has been happening at the spot over the past 19 months.
Yellowstone Biscuit Basin closed
The backstory:
The same pool was also the site of a hydrothermal explosion in July 2024 that damaged a boardwalk and sent rocks and mud flying. Since then eruptions reaching up to 40 feet have occurred sporadically, and the basin has been closed to visitors due to the damage and the potential for hazardous activity.
The webcam that captured the newest explosion was installed back in May to assist in monitoring.
Big picture view:
Park officials say Yellowstone preserves the most extraordinary collection of hot springs, geysers, mud pots and fumaroles on Earth. More than 10,000 hydrothermal features are found within the park, over 500 of them geysers.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from U.S. Geological Survey volcanic experts in a social media post. Background information was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Detroit.