Caldera Chronicles

What better way to celebrate the upcoming 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park than with an updated geologic map? Scientists and students...

Old Faithful is the most famous geyser in the world, but who named the iconic feature?  And how does the current frequency of its eruptions compare to...

Scientists of all disciplines talk about models—models of how a virus works, or the universe formed, or the structure of an atom.  Models can also...

It’s a common misconception that all geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone are acidic.  Some are, but the water that comes out of many of Yellowstone...

Volcanologists have a variety of ways of measuring present-day gas emissions from volcanoes.  But what about gas emissions that happened in years past...

Hayden Valley is a gorgeous expanse of grassland and meadows located right in the center of Yellowstone National Park.  It is a haven for wildlife and...

Yellowstone’s thermal features, like geysers and mud pots, are delicate and dangerous. So how can scientists get a close-up view of these structures...

It seems like a simple question: how old is a geyser?  We know that all of Yellowstone’s current geysers formed after the last glaciers scoured the...

Have you ever wondered just what went in to going from ground shaking detected by a seismometer to a located earthquake available for viewing online? ...

Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin is one of the truly unique places on Earth. It contains the world's highest concentration of geysers, including Old...

Explosive super eruptions are among the most extreme events to affect the Earth’s surface. Thankfully, humans have not experienced such an event in...

With oceans covering over 70% of Earth's surface and an atmosphere rich in volatile elements (carbon, nitrogen and oxygen), Earth has seemingly always...

The American West is a land filled with tales of adventure and discovery. Countless stories of brave frontiersman and frontierswoman are still told...

Since 2013, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory has been a consortium of 8 institutions—a mix of state and federal agencies and academic institutions...

Yellowstone Volcano remains at GREEN/NORMAL. Yellowstone National Park is open and seasonal field work began last month. The University of Utah...

Are you interested in Yellowstone’s dynamic geology? Do you like maps? If the answer to both questions is “yes,” then you’ll love a new online...

In Yellowstone, we often talk about earthquake swarms.  But especially in recent weeks, we’ve also discussed aftershock sequences.  What is the...

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory website has a new and improved look! Now you'll be able to view it all via any sized computer or mobile device...

In the air we breathe, Oxygen plays an obvious and important role, but it is not the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. That honor belongs to...

Have you ever tried to keep track of all the pieces while playing 3-dimensional chess? Imagine if the 4th dimension—time—was included, and the goal...