Geology

How A.I. Helps To Solve A Big Problem With Small Earthquakes

Calculating earthquake magnitudes can be a challenge in places like Yellowstone, where lots of small seismic events can occur in rapid succession. But artificial intelligence approaches offer a potential solution to the problem.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - July 22nd, 2025

Remembering The Gros Ventre Slide Of 1925

One hundred years ago, on June 23, 1925, a mountainside in the Gros Ventre Range in northwest Wyoming collapsed, unleashing one of the largest landslides in North America‘s recorded history. A century later, we can reflect on that day’s events.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - June 24th, 2025

Is It Safe To Drink The Water In Yellowstone’s Backcountry?

Is it safe to drink treated water from rivers in Yellowstone National Park? Well, that depends on whether there are any nearby thermal features.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - June 17th, 2025

YVO’s Plan For Responding To Future Geological Hazards In Yellowstone National Park

YVO just released an updated version of its response plan for geological hazards in Yellowstone National Park. The plan describes how Yellowstone Volcano Observatory scientists will monitor and communicate information about any future hydrothermal, seismic, and volcanic activity.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - June 10th, 2025

A New View Of Yellowstone's Biscuit Basin (literally!)

Yellowstone Volcano Observatory is pleased to announce the availability of a new static webcam that provides a current view of Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin—site of a hydrothermal explosion on July 23, 2024.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - June 3rd, 2025

Yellowstone’s Thermal Areas, By The Numbers

Yellowstone National Park contains the world’s largest concentration of geothermal features. In fact, this is the primary reason it was set aside as a National Park in 1872.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - May 27th, 2025

Rock, Glass, And Flowbands: Yellowstone’s Rhyolite Anatomy

The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field has some of the largest rhyolite lava flows on Earth. Have you ever wondered what these flows look like in their interior, or how the unique textures that can be observed in rocks across Yellowstone National Park formed?

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - May 13th, 2025

Where Might Future Thermal Areas Open In Yellowstone National Park?

Yellowstone contains about 120 thermal areas that collectively are home to more than 10,000 thermal features, like hot springs and geysers. The exact number and location of these thermal areas is always changing, begging the question—where will future thermal areas develop?

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - May 7th, 2025

Using Custom Earthquakes To Define The Top Of Yellowstone’s Magma Reservoir

New research used artificial earthquakes generated by a truck with a vibrating hydraulic plate to better understand the depth and characteristics of the top of the magma chamber beneath Yellowstone caldera.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - April 29th, 2025

At Yellowstone’s Edge: The Beartooth Mountains And The Stillwater Complex

Yellowstone volcanism has produced some of the youngest rocks in North America. This same region also features some of the most ancient rocks in North America—as old as 3.96 billion years in the Beartooth Mountains to the northeast of Yellowstone caldera.

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By Yellowstone Volcano Observatory - April 8th, 2025

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The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

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