Hydrothermal explosion leads to closure of parts of Yellowstone National Park

The Biscuit Basin area of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is closed after a hydrothermal explosion Tuesday morning, park officials said in a news release and post on X.

The Biscuit Basin area of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is closed following a hydrothermal explosion Tuesday morning, park officials said in a news release and post on X. Biscuit Basin, its parking lot and boardwalks – about 2 miles northwest of the Old Faithful geyser – are temporarily closed for safety reasons, officials added in the post. No injuries were reported after the incident, which occurred near the Sapphire Pool around 10 a.m. local time. Investigators have yet to determine how much damage has occurred. “Hydrothermal explosions are violent and dramatic events resulting in the rapid ejection of boiling water, steam, mud, and rock fragments,” according to the US Geological Survey. They “occur where shallow interconnected reservoirs of fluids with temperatures at or near the boiling point underlie thermal fields. These fluids can rapidly transition to steam if the pressure suddenly drops. Since vapor molecules take up much more space than liquid molecules, the transition to steam results in significant expansion and blows apart surrounding rocks and ejects debris,” the agency says. The park has experienced such explosions in the past.