No Fireworks in Yellowstone
It was the flight of the bison that caused alarm. But Yellowstone National Park officials assured guests and the public that an eruption won't happen anytime soon.
Sitting along the borders of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, the Yellowstone National Park is the top tourist destination in the northwestern part of America. Geysers abound in this park, the Old Faithful the most famous of them all. This will come to the mind of visitors whenever they recall Yellowstone, where this particular geyser erupts every hour and a half. The spring is also a reminder that the entire place is a volcanic area, the (volcanic) caldera and supervolcano somewhere within the verdant plains and springs. It may be hard to believe if one looks at the gorgeous pictures, but the park is sometimes called Yellowstone Supervolcano. The caldera is located in the Wyoming part, where most of the park's land area can be found. Earthquakes were frequent, then, but this wasn't what the bison, also known as the American buffalo, ran away from.
"It was a spring-like day and they were frisky. Contrary to online reports, it's a natural occurrence and not the end of the world," park spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said.
There were many ruptures in the Rockies, but the only major eruption that took place in America during the last few decades was Mount St. Helens, in May 18, 1980. It was catastrophic, claiming fifty seven lives and causing the destruction of 250 homes, 47 bridges, 24 kilometers of railways, and 298 kilometers of highway. Mount St. Helens is part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire, home to seventy five percent of the world's active volcanoes. An earthquake triggered that eruption, which some believed may be similar to Yellowstone.
A 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Norris Geyser Basin in the northwest section of Yellowstone on March 30, not causing damages or any noticeable alterations in the landscape. Though benign if compared to the recent quake in northern Chile, it was the strongest to rattle the park since the 4.8 quake in February 1980. But Peter Cervelli, associate director for science and technology at the U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Science Center in California, doesn't believe that this suggests an eruption.
"The chance of that happening in our lifetimes is exceedingly insignificant," said Cervelli.
The Yellowstone National Park is located at the headwaters of Yellowstone River, from which it took its historical name. It was believed that Paleo-Indians first came to the park, making cutting tools and weapons from obsidian, which is abundant in that place. The first white explorers encountered Nez Perce, Crow, and Shoshone tribes, followed by more, collecting specimens and naming sites of interests. Next came Ferdinand V. Hayden, American geologist, who convinced the United States Congress to make Yellowstone a national park. He failed on his first attempt, but not on his second, which was eleven years (after the first).
Hawaii will come to mind if one visits the Yellowstone, the landscape enchanting yet dangerous. But the bison grazing near the hot springs seem not to mind at all.
