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Steamboat Geyser sets new eruption record in YNP

Posted at 12:42 PM, Dec 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-10 14:42:31-05

Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park has set a new record.

On Saturday at 1:07 a.m., the geyser erupted for the 30th time this year. That breaks the previous record of 29 documented eruptions in a single year. That record was set back in 1964.

The highly erratic geyser was dormant from 1911 until 1961 when it sprang back to life. Then it had three very active years from 1963 to 1965 with the old record set in 1964. It was dormant again until 1982 and ’83, erupting since then from six months to eight years.

A major Steamboat eruption can shoot water 300 feet into the air, is extremely loud, and can deposit muddy water, clay and stones on the Norris parking lot a quarter mile away.

Steamboat has been the world’s tallest active geyser since 1904.