Surprise blast of rock, water and steam sends dozens running for safety in Yellowstone
Park staff assess the damage to Biscuit Basin boardwalks Tuesday after a hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. (National Park Service via AP)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A surprise eruption that shot steam, water and dark-colored rock and dirt dozens of feet into the sky Tuesday sent people running for safety in Yellowstone National Park.
The hydrothermal explosion happened around 10 a.m. in Biscuit Basin, a collection of hot springs a couple miles north of the famous Old Faithful Geyser.
The eruption damaged the boardwalk, an elevated wooden walkway that keeps people off Yellowstone's fragile and often dangerous geothermal areas. Photos and video of the aftermath show damaged guardrails and boards covered in rock and silt near muddy pools.
No injuries were reported, but the Biscuit Basin area was closed for visitor safety, according to a U.S. Geological Survey statement.
Similar blasts have happened in Biscuit Basin in 2009, 1991 and after the magnitude 7.2 Hebgen Lake earthquake 40 miles away in 1959.
Dramatic as it was, the latest was on the small side, according to the statement.
Yellowstone is centered on a huge, dormant volcano. The hydrothermal explosion did not indicate new activity within the volcanic system, which remains at normal levels, according to the Geological Survey.
Though no one was hurt, that's not always the case with Yellowstone's thermal features.
At least 22 people are known to have died from injuries related to thermal features in and around the 3,471-square-mile national park since 1890.
Visitors are reminded to stay on the boardwalks and trails in thermal areas, where some of the pools and springs have a thin, breakable crust covering the scalding and sometimes acidic water.