Videos

Long before explosive eruptions formed the Yellowstone Caldera and heat from the magmatic system began feeding a dynamic hydrothermal system, there was the Absaroka volcanic range. Remnants of the rugged terrain are still visible on the east and north sides of Yellowstone National Park.

Over the past few decades, an area on the north rim of Yellowstone Caldera has risen and fallen. Just last year a new period of uplift in this area began!

On June 13, 2026, Yellowstone National Park’s newest geophysical monitoring sites captured a small hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin! That story is the subject of this month’s video update.

This video is from the Biscuit Basin camera, which is located on the boardwalk adjacent to Black Diamond Pool (the blue-water feature in the foreground) and looking to the north.  Black Diamond Pool was the site of a hydrothermal explosion on July 23, 2024, and the pool has erupted numerous times since that event.

Video from a research and monitoring camera located at Biscuit Basin, Yellowstone National Park, recorded between 05:09:45 and 05:10:15 a.m. MDT on June 13, 2026.  Black Diamond Pool, site of a hydrothermal explosion on July 23, 2024, is steaming in the foreground.  At about 05:09:50 a.m.

Summer is here, and millions of people will be visiting Yellowstone National Park. People with questions. What is this scat I’m seeing? How does a geyser erupt? What makes Yellowstone so special?

Where’s the bathroom?

Did you hear that???  Well, Roaring Mountain isn’t quite as loud as it used to be, but it’s still one of the hottest thermal areas in all of Yellowstone National Park!

KABOOM! That’s what Yellowstone is famous for – huge explosive volcanic eruptions. There’s really nothing brewing right now, the magma chamber is mostly solid, but there have been quite a few hydrothermal eruptions and small explosions in both Biscuit Basin and Norris Geyser Basin as water in the hydrothermal system flashes to steam.

Happy New Year! Let's go back and take a look at the top five geologic stories for Yellowstone in 2025.

Number five: Rumors. It was a year of internet rumors, mostly related to animals fleeing the park, and none of which were true.

Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the US, and one of the largest in the world. The boiling lake was named for the spectacular array of colors along its rim.

This video, recorded by a webcam, shows a small eruption from Black Diamond Pool in the Biscuit Basin subbasin of Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, at 8:39 p.m. MDT on May 31, 2025.  The pool was the site of a hydrothermal explosion on July 23, 2024.

This presentation by Dr. Jake Lowenstern was prepared for the AGU 2024-2025 Distinguished Lecture Series. It discusses the challenges of volcano monitoring, eruption forecasting, and protecting vulnerable populations.

Let’s get you caught up on what we’ve learned about the July 23, 2024, hydrothermal explosion in Biscuit Basin, in this Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update for October 2024. 

Read Caldera Chronicles

In this month's video, we update you on the Biscuit Basin explosion on July 23, 2024, and discuss the 65th anniversary of the M7.3 Hegben Lake earthquake. 
 

Volcanic ash in Kansas? It's true there's thick deposits there, but where are the source volcanoes? Geologists began puzzling over this in the late 1800s when these deposits were first recognized. 

If a geyser erupts and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Of course it does, and now we can hear it no matter when it happens thanks to a new monitoring station in Yellowstone National Park.

Steamboat Geyser is the tallest geyser in the world. It has been putting on a show the last few years for visitors at Yellowstone National Park with a record number of water eruptions, 48 eruptions each in 2019 and 2020. But it's only had eight eruptions in 2023. Is Steamboat losing steam? 

Lava flows are one of the coolest (or maybe hottest!) features about volcanoes, but what would a lava flow look like if you could peel away the surface and take a peek underneath?

What geologic hazard is most likely to occur in the Yellowstone region on human timescales?

A routine helicopter overflight provided aerial views of Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea. The crater floor is covered by solidified lava erupted during the previous summit eruption, earlier this year. Inflation and seismic activity in the summit region indicate ongoing unrest. USGS video by M. Patrick.

The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was monumental in so many different ways. It had a huge impact on the geography of southwestern Washington, ash affected many people, lives were lost, and lessons were learned. The eruption also led to the creation of the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington.