A video shared to Facebook on July 23, 2024, claimed to show the moments before and during an "explosion" at the Biscuit Basin region of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
"This has never happened in the history of the park. The rangers arrived and closed it off. Boardwalk completely destroyed," the post read. The footage, which showed park visitors fleeing along a boardwalk, quickly spread across social media.
Michael Poland , scientist-in-charge with the U.S. Geological Survey, confirmed to Snopes that the "hydrothermal explosion occurred at Biscuit Basin." Poland referred our newsroom to an information statement issued by the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, which read in part:
At around 10:00 AM MST on July 23, 2024, a small hydrothermal explosion occurred in Yellowstone National Park in the Biscuit Basin thermal area, about 2.1 miles (3.5 km) northwest of Old Faithful. Numerous videos of the event were recorded by visitors. The boardwalk was damaged, but there were no reports of injury. The explosion appears to have originated near Black Diamond Pool.
Biscuit Basin, including the parking lot and boardwalks, are temporary closed for visitor safety. The Grand Loop road remains open. Yellowstone National Park geologists are investigating the event.
Hydrothermal explosions occur when water suddenly flashes to steam underground, and they are relatively common in Yellowstone.
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Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region. Today's explosion does not reflect activity within volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity. Hydrothermal explosions like that of today are not a sign of impending volcanic eruptions, and they are not caused by magma rising towards the surface.
We have little reason to doubt whether the clip is genuine. In a statement published to X, Yellowstone National Park confirmed that Biscuit Basin was "temporarily closed due to hydrothermal explosion."
The park also issued a news release on its website describing the event as an "evolving incident" with "additional details" expected to be shared as more facts are known. What is known at the time of the publication is as follows:
- On Tuesday, July 23, at about 10:19 a.m., a localized hydrothermal explosion occurred near Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, located just north of Old Faithful.
- Biscuit Basin, including the parking lot and boardwalks, are temporarily closed for safety reasons. The Grand Loop Road remains open.
- No injuries were reported and the extent of damage is unknown at this time.
- Park staff and staff from USGS will monitor conditions and reopen the area once deemed safe.
- No other monitoring data show changes in the Yellowstone region. Today's explosion does not reflect a change in the volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity.
Yellowstone National Park describes Black Diamond Pool, the hydrothermal feature located in Biscuit Basin, as having been formed from hydrothermal explosions.
"While not all historic explosions are known, Black Diamond Pool erupted black murky water after an earthquake in July 2006, with several explosive eruptions in the following days. Eruptions continue to be infrequent since, with the last eruption observed in 2016," according to the NPS website.
Geyser Times, a nonprofit that tracks geyser information, confirmed an eruption at Black Diamond Geyser the morning of July 23. A comment included in the report was said to have been taken from the NPS Radio, reading:
first large pool at biscuit basin...large explosion,,,lots of debris. no injuries calling geology to determine what happened. closing basin for now.
But to say that this has "never happened in the history of the park," as the post suggests, is misleading. In 2009, Wall Pool in Biscuit Basin "surged, then erupted, expelling foot-sized ejecta" and "a sensation of heat associated with the eruption, which lasted for an estimated 10 to 15 seconds," note park records .
Biscuit Basin is located in the southwestern portion of Yellowstone National Park. A look at the Black Diamond Geyser activity log maintained by Geyser Times shows eruptions dating back to at least 2006, with a median interval between eruptions being roughly 107 days. That's not to say that all eruptions in the area are of the same magnitude, and the extent of the damage from the July 2024 eruption is yet to be determined.
Snopes has a history of looking into rumors related to Yellowstone National Park , including those involving its supposed " Supervolcano ."
Sources:
"Black Diamond Geyser."
GeyserTimes , https://geysertimes.org/geyser.php?id=201&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR15ZhDNScPhdg0MgDAK_XjIVOP8E61F8pUBbcNbBgiwg4RO8YMAGZNxW-c_aem_7UQS6XQ-W5bz-tUlwtiF5g. Accessed 23 July 2024.
Black Diamond Pool (U.S. National Park Service) . https://www.nps.gov/places/000/black-diamond-pool.htm. Accessed 23 July 2024.
--- . https://www.nps.gov/places/000/black-diamond-pool.htm. Accessed 23 July 2024.
Log in or Sign up to View . https://www.facebook.com/login/. Accessed 23 July 2024. Park, Mailing Address: PO Box 168 Yellowstone National, and WY 82190-0168 Phone: 307-344-7381 Contact Us.
Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park Temporarily Closed Due to Hydrothermal Explosion - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) . https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/240723.htm. Accessed 23 July 2024.
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