Insights into the eruptions of Steamboat Geyser
Release Date:
January 11, 2021
The tallest active geyser in the world has been erupting at a record pace since March 2018. Why are eruptions so energetic, what influences the intervals between eruptions, and why did Steamboat reactivate in the first place?
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week's contribution is from Mara H. Reed, former graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley.
Steamboat Geyser erupts in the golden light of sunrise on July 18th, 2019. The water-dominated part of a Steamboat eruption usually lasts anywhere from 3 to 90 minutes. Afterwards, a steam-dominated phase continues for many hours.