USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-YVO-2024-03-01T19:22:52+00:00

Recent Work and News

Steamboat geyser erupted in the early morning hours of February 26 -- its first eruption of 2024.

Seismicity

During February 2024, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located 125 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a minor earthquake of magnitude 2.6 located about 9 miles north of Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park on February 23 at 8:02 PM MST.  

February seismicity in Yellowstone was marked by two swarms:

1. A swarm of 49 earthquakes, located approximately 15 miles south-southwest of Mammoth, occurred February 18–19. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 2.1 on February 18 at 10:05 PM MST.

2. A swarm of 15 earthquakes, approximately 7 miles north of West Yellowstone, MT, occurred February 2–4. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 1.3 on February 3 at 5:10 PM MST.

Earthquake sequences like these are common and account for roughly 50% of the total seismicity in the Yellowstone region.

Yellowstone earthquake activity is currently at background levels.

Ground Deformation

During the month of February, continuous GPS stations in Yellowstone caldera showed subsidence, which has been ongoing since 2015, interrupted in summer months by a pause or slight uplift caused by seasonal changes related to snowmelt and groundwater conditions.  The caldera has subsided by about 2.5 cm (about 1 in) since the end of September.  No significant deformation has occurred at Norris Geyser Basin since the end of summer.

An example of GPS data can be found at http://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/data/NRWY (click on Static Plots / Cleaned)