Earthquakes Shake Yellowstone Park

We got to talking about the Yellowstone Caldera this morning because of all the earthquakes in the area. In the period from 9/10-9/16 there were a total of 130 recorded.  These “swarms” hit three areas; Lewis Lake, the Lower Geyser Basin and the northwest part of Norris Geyser Basin.

Yellowstone Park is my favorite. We try to visit it at least once every year. Our daughter worked there for two seasons and showed us a lot of interesting places. We’ve witnessed geysers going off, mud pots bubbling, and shimmering pools of superheated water.

All of this activity is the result of past volcanic activity with three major eruptions the most recent 640,000 years ago. The caldera is about 34 miles by 45 miles. The explosive force that created it dwarfs the Mt St Helens blast.

Some say Yellowstone is overdue for another eruption. There was a special on the History Channel about it that was sort of foreboding.