Yellowstone’s Tallest Steamboat Geyser Erupts for First Time in Eight Years [VIDEO]

First Posted: Aug 02, 2013 10:34 AM EDT
Close

The world's tallest and currently active geyser, the Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, has exploded to life for the first time in eight years.

On July 31, Wednesday, a steam of 160 degree erupted from Steamboat Geyser in Norris Geyser Basin to an estimated height of 200-300 feet high. This rare eruption lasted for nine minutes, according to the Associated Press.

Unlike the park's most famous geyser,  the 'Old Faithful', that is known as the most predictable geographical feature on Earth as it erupts almost every 91 minutes, the Steamboat does not erupt on a predictable schedule. Steamboat's major eruptions last from 3-40 minutes. Prior to this an eruption from steamboat emitted a superheated torrent of water high up in the air on May 23, 2005. It was on October 2, 1991 that the first eruption from Steamboat was seen, source Wikipedia.

Yellowstone attracts more than three million visitors a year and is located in Wyoming and some parts extend into neighboring Montana and Idaho.

Steamboat is one of the 500 geysers at the Yellowstone Park, famed for its hydrothermal features. The geysers are formed by the cold water seeping underground and meeting the heat generated by the volcanoes in the park, which lead to the periodic eruptions. 

                    

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

©2017 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics