A’hydrothermal explosion it happened on tuesday July 23, 2024 around 10 am (local time) in Yellowstone National Parkin the northwest of the state of Wyoming, United Statescatching tourists off guard, some of whom fled. The event blew up waterfall And vapors incandescentwith debristo high pressureThe explosion, classified by the USGS as “small”, has damaged a walkway and a wooden railing used by tourists, leaving a crater covered with rock debris and mud. What are the implications for the risk of eruption of the “supervolcano” (to use a purely journalistic term) most monitored in the world?
The Biscuit Basin Hydrothermal Explosion: What Happened
To the 10:19 of July 23, 2024, local time, a fascinating geological phenomenon as dangerous It was captured by the smartphones of a group of tourists visiting Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Aviolent eruption And sudden he lifted a from the ground black column of steam and incandescent watermixed with debris of rock and earth.
The phenomenon, known as hydrothermal explosionoccurred in Biscuit Basinlocated in theUpper Geyser Basinin the heart of the national park of Yellowstone Supervolcano. This region is home to several natural thermal elements, mainly geysers And sourceslike the famous one Sapphire Pool.
The explosion caused significant damage to the catwalk and to the fence used by tourists, leaving the ground now completely covered by a blanket of rock and mud. The site is currently closed for security reasons. As seen in the video, the tourists fled and, fortunately, there were no injuries.

The Geological Explanation of Hydrothermal Ejection in Yellowstone Park
Hydrothermal explosions are violent events which lead to the rapid expulsion of boiling water, incandescent vapors, mud and fragments of rock. The incandescent column can reach the 2 km high and leave a crater with a diameter that varies from a few meters to over 2 km. As reported by theUSGSThe United States Geological Surveythis type of volcanic event occurs in areas where there are deposits of fluids temperatures close to boiling point, located at very shallow depths and confined within the rocks. A quick transition to the vapor statecaused by a change in pressure, leads to a sudden increase in volume of the fluid, since the vapor molecules occupy more space than the liquid ones. As it expands, the fluid shatters the surrounding rocks, until it reaches the surface and escapes from the ground at high pressure, carrying the rock debris with it inside the geysers.
The explosion in Biscuit Basin was a hydrothermal explosion of low magnitudeUSGS experts said on social media that this type of event occurs 1-2 times a year in Yellowstone National Park, but they usually occur in remote areas and therefore go unnoticed. However, they pose a serious danger to people and structures nearby and, as a result, require greater attention.
The large hydrothermal explosions represent a completely different situation. These are rare events and of considerable magnitude that can radically transform the morphology of an area. In the area of the Yellowstone supervolcano, it is estimated that these phenomena occur on average every 700 years. So far, about 25 large craterswith some exceeding a kilometer in diameter, all the result of these powerful explosions.
Symptom of an impending volcanic eruption?
Despite the alarmism of the last few hours, the event that occurred in the Biscuit Basin does not indicate an imminent supervolcano eruption. The Yellowstone National Park Service reported that monitoring data did not reveal any changes in the volcanic system, nor were any alterations detected in the chemical-physical parameters that could suggest an upcoming magma rise. In short, at the moment there is no reason to speak of a risk of eruption. Despite this, the site remains under close observation and further details on the explosion could be made known in the coming hours or days.