Steamboat Geyser Erupts
Steamboat, World's Tallest Geyser, Erupts After Nine Year Hiatus
NPS 5-02-00
Early this morning, around 5 a.m., the world's tallest active geyser, Steamboat, gave early morning visitors a rare opportunity to view it in major eruption. Eruptions of Steamboat Geyser (located at the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park) are entirely unpredictable, with the last eruption on October 2, 1991.
At around 7 a.m., a National Park Service employee traveling to work spotted a very tall vapor column as he neared the geyser basin and-suspecting a possible eruption-stopped to investigate.
Two park visitors, sleeping in their pickup camper truck at the Norris parking area, stated that they were abruptly awakened about 5 a.m. by what they thought was an earthquake. Frightened, they drove south toward Madison, but upon looking back noted the huge vapor plume and returned to the geyser basin. By the time the park employee arrived, a very heavy, wet mist enveloped most of the area to the geyser, and Steamboat-emitting a tremendous roar-was in the full steam phase with a huge vapor plume approximately 500 feet tall (we have no estimate of the height of the water plume).
Steamboat Geyser rarely erupts in major phase. More commonly, Steamboat ejects water in frequent bursts of 10-40 feet. During a major eruption, Steamboat can reach heights of over 300 feet, showering viewers with mineral-rich waters. For hours following its rare 3-40 minute major eruptions (water phase), Steamboat thunders with powerful jets of steam; this steam phase can continue as long as 12 hours after the water cessation.
Steamboat's unpredictability makes today's observance even more rare. Intervals vary from three days to fifty years (Steamboat was dormant from 1911-1961). In recent years, Steamboat has erupted in 1989 (3 times), 1990 (1 time), and 1991 (1 time).
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