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To whom it may concern,
It is now confirmed: North Geyser Basin (Norris Geyser) of the Park is CLOSED due to magma activity and heating.
In Yellowstone Lake....a major uplift is now occurring...it is 2500 feet long. The north end of the lake is now tilting up.
Steamboat geyser has been dormant for about 50 years. It is now ACTIVE. Sonar side scans have been taken that indicate that theYellowstone caldera **MAY** be going active also.
Please refer to the maps on the following web pages.
Yellowstone Caldera:
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/Lv1Map.html
Norris Geyser Area:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/press/images/norrislocatormap.gif
The Yellowstone caldera was formed over 600,000 years ago. This caldera covers an area greater than 20 by 40 kilometers. It is 10 kilometers deep. It is a major caldera (see map). Scientists have predicted that IF the Yellowstone cladera blows, it will blow with a force of magnitude 8. Mt St Helen was a magnitude five explosion. If the explosive force of Mt. St. Helen is viewed as the size of a marble, the explosive force of the Yellowstone caldera would be the size of a beachball. The sound from this size of explosion would be heard around the world. The lava flows will initially range from 10km to 15km from the caldera and then spread out to a 75 kilometer radius. The ash will devastate most major crops in the USA.
Currently, the situation does not look good. Indications are that the Yellowstone caldera is getting ready to blow. If it does blow, it will surely have a devastating impact on Gardiner and the surrounding area.
Here is the site that is monitoring the activity in Yellowstone and gave out the Alert:
Here is the press release: (Near as I can tell, it's the article cited above. --TEXOKIE)
http://www.nps.gov/yell/press/0362.htm
The following articles have more details on the overall trends:
http://yowusa.com/Archive/Jun2003/volcanism1/volcanism1.htm
http://www.yowusa.com/Archive/Jul2003/volcanism2/volcanism2.htm
God bless.
