Culture

Wild Alternate Angles Emerge Of The Massive Yellowstone Hydrothermal Explosion (Videos)

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Yellowstone National Park was at the front and center of the national news on Tuesday after a massive hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin sent visitors scrambling off the boardwalk to avoid falling debris and hot water while the boardwalk itself was damaged from the explosion and will be temporarily closed for repairs.

Footage of the initial blast was seen by millions who (falsely) feared it was the dormant Yellowstone volcano waking up for ‘the big one’. Alas, it was just Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin hydrothermal activity getting a little overexcited and releasing a larger blast than usual which erupted in the spectacular explosion seen across social media.

The initial video seen by millions shows a spectacular hydrothermal explosion at Yellowstone’s Biscuit Basin with enormous plumes of water skyrocketing stories above the tourists on the wooden boardwalk:

A friend was at Yellowstone yesterday and reported seeing an ambulance in the are and emergency vehicles all over in the aftermath of the hydrothermal explosion. And shortly after the initial video went viral, alternate angles emerged. One shows tourists running as fast as they can off the geyser viewing area:

@wrb1979

Biscuit basin geothermal explosion. Video crefit @sabrina harris We were just leaving and got caught in the explosion. 7/23/24 #biscuitbasin #yellowstonenationalpark #weran #wemadeit

♬ original sound – MrkeepFit

Another video that went viral on TikTok shows the aftermath of the Yellowstone hydrothermal explosion with debris strewn everywhere and damage visible throughout that part of the park:

@severecentral

Aftermath of the yellowstone geyser eruption #yellowstone #yellowstonenationalpark

♬ original sound – severecentral

The USGS Volcanoes division shared an aerial photo showing the damage after the explosion. In this picture, the light grey areas indicate how far mud was flung from the hydrothermal explosion and it’s clear how widespread the damage was:

USGS Volcanoes also shared additional images of the damage that will now require repairs before visitors to Yellowstone National Park will be able to return to Biscuit Basin:

Yellowstone National Park released details about the hydrothermal explosion in a press release, after gathering information throughout the day. It occurred near the Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin which is just north of the iconic Old Faithful geyser. Somehow, no injures were reported and everyone made it out of there unscathed.

At this time, Yellowstone National Park does not anticipate any additional hydrothermal explosions and they explicitly stated “today’s explosion does not reflect a change in the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity.”