USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-YVO-2025-01-01T16:49:52+00:00

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY MONTHLY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Wednesday, January 1, 2025, 9:54 AM MST (Wednesday, January 1, 2025, 16:54 UTC)

YELLOWSTONE (VNUM #325010)
44°25'48" N 110°40'12" W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Summary

Yellowstone Caldera activity remains at background levels, with 82 located earthquakes in December (maximum = M2.7). Deformation measurements indicate a small amount of caldera subsidence since early October.

Recent Work and News

Minor eruptions began at Steamboat Geyser in mid-December, suggesting that a major eruption may occur during the first few weeks of 2025. The geyser experienced 6 major eruptions during 2024, the fewest since the geyser became frequently active in 2018.

From the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Happy New Year!

Seismicity

During December 2024, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, located 82 earthquakes in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event of the month was a micro earthquake of magnitude 2.7 located about 8 miles south-southeast of Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park on December 15 at 6:10 AM MST.

There were no swarms identified during the month of December.

Yellowstone earthquake activity is currently at background levels.

Ground Deformation

Continuous GPS stations in Yellowstone Caldera recorded a small amount (less than 1 centimeter, or a fraction of an inch) of subsidence since October. Overall, the caldera subsided by about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) during 2024, continuing a trend that started in 2015–2016. No significant deformation was measured by a continuous GPS station near Norris Geyser Basin over the past month, and overall deformation in that area during 2024 included about 1–1.5 centimeters (0.4 – 0.6 inches) of subsidence.

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

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) provides long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.

YVO Member agencies: USGS, Yellowstone National Park, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, Montana State University, Earthscope Consortium, Wyoming State Geological Survey, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Idaho Geological Survey

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Michael Poland, Scientist-in-Charge
mpoland@usgs.gov