Yellowstone National Park is a crowd favorite, along with Biscuit Basin Geyser. As the country's first and oldest national park, it attracts over three million visitors each year. With over 2.2 million acres of ecosystems and wildlife to explore it is no wonder that the park continues to gain popularity. The park features active geysers and bucket list views such as the Grand Canyon and the Yellowstone River. However, Yellowstone hasn't been breaking headlines recently because of its incredible views. One of it's geysers erupted today, in a hydrothermal explosion, causing chaos and terror among the park's visitors. While it may have initially seemed like an Instagram-worthy moment, it quickly turned dangerous. Watch this scary video of tourists fleeing from the Sapphire Pool as Biscuit Basin erupts.
?#BREAKING: Onlookers and tourists run for their lives as Biscuit Basin geyser erupts and explodes throwing hot boiling water and debris into the air
Please enable Javascript to view this content Watch as wild and frightening footage capturing crowds of tourists and onlookers desperately? pic.twitter.com/WB0ldAGHz8
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 23, 2024
Biscuit Basin Geyser Erupts at Yellowstone National Park
Onlookers got much more than they bargained for today when visiting Yellowstone National Park. Earlier today, near the Sapphire Pool around 10:19 am, Biscuit Basin Geyser erupted in a hydrothermal explosion. Onlookers had to quickly flee the scene as a mixture of boiling water, rock, and various debris rained down from the air. This various debris caused considerable damage to the nearby boardwalk and made it unsafe for the many tourists that were present.
In the video, you can hear a man calmy ushering people away from the geyser. He says things like, "Everyone wants to move out of here really quickly" and "This could be really really dangerous". In the video it appears as if most people were able to scramble away unharmed. However there has been no reports yet on whether or not any of the onlookers were injured by the explosion. Park rangers have since closed off the surrounding area to ensure the public's safety.
What is a Geyser and Why Do They Erupt?
Getty Images, BirdImages
After this incident, many people have questions. People want to understand more thoroughly what happened. First, let's discuss what a geyser is. According to the National Park Service, a geyser is "a hot spring that erupts periodically and forcibly ejects water. Three ingredients are necessary for a geyser to exist: a source of heat, an abundant supply of water, and a special underground plumbing system". The water in Biscuit Basin, as well as most of the water at Yellowstone National Park, begins as rain or snow. The water seeps into the ground and then rises back up through natural plumbing such as cracks, fissures, and faults. This process is not a speedy one, it can take hundreds to thousands of years.
Eventually, that water comes into contact with rocks that have been heated by magma. A geyser eruption is triggered when the now superheated water fills that geyser's natural plumbing system. Sort of in the same way a pressure cooker works, or the way Bowser's face fills with red, rage-filled liquid in Mario Party. As more and more hot water enters the natural plumbing within the geyser, the temperature of the water climbs high enough that it can overcome the pressure.
Some of that water and pressure converts to steam, but as the steam becomes to much then it can no longer rise freely out of the plumbing system. Eventually, some of the underlying water makes it through the roadblock of violently bubbling steam, and that release causes an instant change in pressure. "Much of the water in the system flashes instantly into steam and forcibly ejects the remaining water", giving us a geyser explosion.
Current Updates From Yellowstone
Here are some of the most current updates regarding the Biscuit Basin Geyser eruption at Yellowstone National Park. To see even more updates visit their website.
- The eruption happened today, July 23rd, 2024 around 10:19 am
- The explosion occurred near Sapphire Pool in Biscuit Basin, located just north of Old Faithful.
- While no injuries have been reported, the decree of damage is still unknown
- The area is currently closed and will remain so until park staff deems it safe
