According to park officials and a video recorded by witnesses, the thermal explosion at Yellowstone National Park on July 23 local time forced visitors to flee. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, according to Global News.
The National Park Service (NPS) said the explosion occurred at around 10:20 a.m. local time near Sapphire Lake in Biscuit Basin, about 3.5 km northwest of the famous Old faithful spraying water district.
The entire Biscuit Basin area, including the parking lot and the paved walking path, is closed until further notice for safety reasons.
Video of the blast shows a giant column of gray smoke rising over the Biscuit Basin tropical area, accompanied by hot water, debris and rocks blown into the air. Tourists, including many children, fight to escape
Officials said it was unclear how much damage was caused by the blast. Photos of the consequences show that the boardwalk in Biscuit Basin is covered with black dust and debris, and some wooden railings are severely damaged.
Vlada March was visiting when the tour guide said something unusual was happening, so she started filming.
We saw more steam coming up and in just a few seconds, it became something like this giant. It has just exploded and become a black cloud covering the sun. I think our tour guide said Run, and I started running and filming whatever I could, March said.
According to a joint statement from NPS and the US Geological Survey (USGS), the explosion appeared to have originated from the Black Diamond Pool.
The Black Diamond Pool is a large hot lake with blue water, formed from hydrological explosions. Black Diamond Pool experienced a black water splash after a landslide in July 2006, along with several explosions in the following days. The outbreaks have not been seen since, the last of which was in 2016.
The water in the Black Diamond Pool has an average temperature of 64.7 degrees Celsius, an average pH of 8.2 and an average conduction of 2092 uS/cm.
Hydro-termal explosions occur when water suddenly turns to groundwater vents. The amount of liquid water is much smaller than that of steam, so when this hot water evaporates, it quickly blooms up, causing an explosion.
Hydothermal explosions are intense and dramatic events that lead to rapid bursts of boiling water, steam, mud and rock. The explosions could reach a height of 2 km and leave gaps several meters to more than 2 km in diameter, according to the USGS.
Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcanoes Observatory, estimated that the explosion pushed water and mud into the air about 30 meters high.
Hydothermal explosions like today are not a sign of an imminent volcanic explosion and are not caused by magma rising on the surface, the NPS added.
Yellowstone National Park is located on the top of one of the world's largest super volcanoes. Yellowstone's famous spraying water and hot springs are heated by volcanic underground magma.
Established in 1872, Yellowstone became the world's first national park and a symbol of North American natural resources. By 1978, it had been recognized as a world heritage.
