Yellowstone volcano has only had three major eruptions in the last 2.1 million years, prompting some to fear the supervolcano is long overdue another blast. Earlier this week, Yellowstone authorities have confirmed a high number of earthquakes was felt throughout the Yellowstone region.
The earthquakes were paired with a record-breaking number of 48 eruptions from Yellowstone’s famous Steamboat Geyser.
On January 1, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) branch of the US Geological Survey (USGS) confirmed 1,217 earthquakes were detected in Yellowstone in 2019.
After a year of intense activity, many took to social media to speculate another eruption is on the table.
One Twitter user said: “When you realise that if a nuclear bomb hits America, the whole world is dead because a little place named Yellowstone is a super volcano and is already overdue for an eruptions #WorldWarThree.”
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Another person said: “I do not want to live to see the eruption of the Yellowstone caldera volcano.”
Judy Timothy also tweeted: “I do NOT want to witness a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone!”
All seismic activity in Yellowstone is monitored by a network of machines operated by the University of Utah and Yellowstone Seismic Network.
According to the two groups, 87 earthquakes struck inside of the Yellowstone National Park region in December alone.
The strongest of the quakes was a “minor earthquake” of magnitude 3.5, on December 15.
The earthquake was detected just 10 miles south of West Yellowstone in Montana but was felt further out in Island Park, Idaho, and surrounding area.
I do NOT want to witness a volcanic eruption in Yellowstone
Judy Timothy
However, Yellowstone earthquake activity remains at background levels and the current Volcano Alert Level stands at “NORMAL”.
According to the USGS, Yellowstone is struck on average by 1,500 to 2,500 earthquakes every year.
In other words, 2019 has proven to be an unremarkable year of seismic activity.
The USGS said: “Overall, 2019 was a year of diminished seismicity, with 1217 located earthquakes – well below the annual average of 1,500 to 2,500 earthquakes – and seven events greater than M3.
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“For the first time in several years, there was no significant uplift in the Yellowstone area during 2019.
“The caldera continued to subside, as it has since 2015, and the area around Norris Geyser Basin transitioned from no deformation to subsidence in September 2019.”
Steamboat geyser has, however, broken the record for the most eruptions in a single year.
With three eruptions in December, Steamboat tallied 48 blasts in 2019, breaking the record of 32 eruptions in 2018.
Yellowstone has had three major eruptions in its history, with the most recent blast about 640,000 years ago.
Before that, Yellowstone erupted about 1.3 million and 2.1 million years ago.
Luckily, there is no sign whatsoever to suggest Yellowstone is overdue another big eruption.
The USGS said: “There’s no necessity that there will be another supereruption. Most volcanic systems do not have multiple such events.
“When they do, the supereruptions are not evenly spaced in time.”
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