After a hydrothermal explosion rocked the Biscuit Basin area of Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park Tuesday and sent rocks flying, park officials closed off the area for the rest of the summer.
The blast happened when water boiled into steam beneath Black Diamond Pool inside Biscuit Basin, which is north of the famous Old Faithful geyser. No volcanic activity was involved.
Steam and debris rocketed hundreds of feet into the air, a nearby boardwalk was wrecked, and numerous rocks, most the size of grapefruit, flew away from the pool.
Visitors were present at 10 a.m. when the blast occurred, but no injuries were reported.
“We saw more steam coming up, and within seconds it became this huge thing. It just exploded and became like a black cloud that covered the sun,” tourist Vlada March, who was visiting Yellowstone with her family, told The Associated Press.
The changes to the natural hydrothermal plumbing mean that more explosions caused by boiling water are possible in the area over the coming months.
While hydrothermal explosions hit Yellowstone every year, many happen in more remote areas.
National Park Service and U.S. Geological Survey geologists are mapping the area where debris fell and monitoring the water to see if more changes occur in the hydrothermal system in the next few days.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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