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Ancient rhinos in Nebraska lived in large local herds and died slowly from volcanic ashfall, not sudden disaster. Credit: John Haxby/The University of Nebraska State Museum ************************************************************************* Volcanic eruption from 12 million years ago preserves a snapshot of extinct animal life. Rhinos that once roamed much of North America 12 million years ago likely lived in large herds, according to a new study by the University of Cincinnati. Researchers examined isotopes in the teeth of rhinos found in what is now northeast Nebraska. At this site, more than 100 rhinos died at a single water hole and were buried in...

* Yellowstone’s upper magma chamber is just 2.3 miles deep, closer than previously thought, raising new questions about eruption risks. * Scientists used advanced seismic imaging to map the magma system, revealing a silica-rich upper chamber and a larger basalt reservoir below. * Volatile gases venting naturally reduce pressure but don’t eliminate the long-term threat of a catastrophic eruption. * Past supereruptions reshaped landscapes and altered global climates — the last one was 640,000 years ago. * NASA’s controversial plan to cool the magma via drilling carries risks and would take millennia to show effects. ********************************************************************** Yellowstone National Park, home...

[Pics at site. Can't post Getty] A new steam vent near Nymph Lake in Yellowstone National Park attracted a lot of attention when it suddenly appeared in August 2024. Even in the ever-changing landscape of Yellowstone, it’s not every day that people see a new thermal feature emerge. The U.S. Geological Survey was observing the new steam vent until the winter snow prevented easy access. Once they’re able to get back to it, the new feature might already be gone. “That new vent was much diminished by the end of last year,” said Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano...

Are two of the most dangerous volcanoes in the entire world starting to wake up? We live at a time when seismic activity is on the rise all over the planet. More than three dozen volcanoes have recently erupted, and there have been more than 850 earthquakes in California and Nevada within the past seven days. Unfortunately, most people are not taking the threat that we are facing seriously. (snip) Thankfully, seismologists do not expect Yellowstone to erupt right now. (snip) In the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, a much larger and potentially catastrophic threat looms beneath the ground—Campi Flegrei, the...

Grizzly bears in Wyoming and the rest of the Lower 48 will remain under endangered species protection, federal officials announced — a decision immediately blasted by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. In a statement released Wednesday just after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its intention to keep grizzlies listed, Gordon implied it was a political move in the last days of President Joe Biden’s administration. “It has always been clear the Biden administration had no intention of delisting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear,” Gordon says in the statement. “This latest move to keep a fully-recovered population on...

Two snow coaches traveling in Yellowstone National Park lost traction and drove off the same patch of road this week. The National Park Service and Xanterra, the park's hotel concessionaire, say both crashes were caused by icy conditions... Within two weeks of the 2024-2025 winter season opening in Yellowstone National Park, two Xanterra snow coaches slipped off the same section of road near Mammoth Hot Springs this week. Cowboy State Daily confirmed both incidents, the first of which happened about 7:30 a.m. Monday when a snow coach returning to the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel lost traction and slipped off the...

Actor Kevin Costner is smitten with Liz Cheney and her increasingly acerbic attacks on President-elect Donald Trump, saying the former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming should be applauded for her public service in branding him “unstable,” “depraved,” and “cruel” amongst other insults. “I expect people in government to do the right thing. Public service is about public service. It’s not about your career. It’s not about your ego. Your four years is your four years,” the former Yellowstone star said Monday during a live, town-hall edition of “The Michael Smerconish Program” on SiriusXM.

On July 1, Alex Bitts was walking into work at Sutter Roseville Hospital when she stopped near a drainage ditch outside after hearing what she said was a cat "yowling." "Cats generally don't yowl like that unless something is wrong," Betts said. She went down and looked into a small cement tunnel to find a cat barely holding on to life. "It took me a while to get the cat close enough to see it because it didn't want to come close," Betts said As an animal lover at heart, Betts did what she says was the right thing to...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Hours before a gunman opened fire at an entrance to a Yellowstone National Park employee dining hall, injuring one ranger, authorities had been warned he planned to carry out a mass shooting at the facility, officials said Thursday. The revelation came as authorities released videos and other new details about the July 4 shooting in which rangers stationed to protect the facility at Canyon Village killed Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida, after he opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle... Late on July 3, Fussner held another concessionaire worker against her will with a...

Only Rayne Beau, a house cat from Salinas, California, knows how he survived 60 days on his own and traveled 800 miles from Yellowstone National Park to a shelter in Roseville, California, about 200 miles from home. Rayne Beau was traveling with his owners, Benny and Susanne Anguiano, camping in Yellowstone National Park in June. For reasons known only to himself, the cat got spooked, ran off into the wilderness at their campsite and disappeared. The Anguianos told KSBW TV news in Salinas this week that they spent several days trying to find Rayne Beau and lure him back, while...

For two months, a California couple was heartbroken, worrying about the whereabouts of their beloved cat after losing him in Yellowstone national park, a wilderness larger than some US states. But as summer came to a close, so did their tragic story. Benny and Susanne Anguiano reunited with their lost feline Rayne Beau last month after an animal welfare group called to let them know their cat had been found in Roseville, California, about 800 miles (1,287km) from Yellowstone. In early August, Rayne Beau’s microchip came in handy. The couple received a message from Pet Watch, a pet-tracking service, indicating...

There is a well know saying amongst Yellowstone National Park staff about bison safety that goes like this “don’t pet fluffy cows.” It’s comical and cute but is an actual warning for tourists not a treat the park’s wildlife like a petting zoo. Bison may seem like docile creatures that would have little recourse to a human dead set on making contact but that is a very dangerous misconception. In a park with predators roaming around like grizzly bears and mountain lions, bison stand above all other species when it comes to injuring the most tourists.

DENVER (KDVR) — On Tuesday, visitors at Yellowstone National Park fled when a hydrothermal explosion occurred a few miles north of the famous Old Faithful geyser. No one was injured, but the event destroyed a nearby boardwalk and prompted officials to close the Biscuit Basin area of the park for the rest of the year. As alarming as the video and subsequent damage seemed, the phenomenon is a normal, common occurrence at Yellowstone, happening at least once each year. Officials with the U.S. Geological Survey told Nexstar hydrothermal explosions like the one that occurred this week are “not a sign...

Biscuit Basin closed for the remainder of summer due to hydrothermal explosion Alert 1, Severity closure, Biscuit Basin closed for the remainder of summer due to hydrothermal explosion The parking lot and boardwalks at Biscuit Basin, located north of Old Faithful, are closed for the remainder of the summer due to a hydrothermal explosion that occurred July 23. The Grand Loop Road remains open to vehicles. Biscuit Basin hydrothermal explosion: Boardwalk condition post-explosion. NPS / Jacob W. Frank Date of release: July 24, 2024USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-YVO-2024-07-24T21:27:48+00:00YELLOWSTONE (VNUM #325010) 44°25'48" N 110°40'12" W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)...

Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park has blown up, destroying a nearby boardwalk as tourists could be seen running to safety

Crews work to lift car out of the Semi-Centennial Geyser Image credit: National Park Service ================================================================== t wouldn’t be a day ending in “y” without a tourist having a mishap at Yellowstone National Park. The latest snafu comes courtesy of five visitors who accidentally drove their SUV into the Semi-Centennial Geyser – a hot, acidic pond located near the park’s Roaring Mountain, between Mammoth Hot Springs and Norris Junction. The geyser has been inactive since 1922, when it experienced a series of eruptions so violent that water was reportedly ejected more than 300 feet (91 meters) into the air. Nevertheless,...

A suspected gunman was killed in a horror shootout at Yellowstone National Park as families prepared to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday at the landmark. A Yellowstone National Park ranger was also shot in the episode but is in stable condition, and officials said there is no further threat to the public. The shooting took place in the park's Canyon Village, which remains locked down as the FBI leads an investigation into the incident. It came as rangers responded to reports of a person making threats with a firearm, which began hours before on Wednesday night. Rangers began to...

Despite huge acreage and treacherous terrain, most missing persons at Yellowstone National Park are found. But a small number of disappearances have never been solved. The reasons why are as vast as the park. =============================================================== Dan Campbell was illegally hunting elk antler sheds in Yellowstone Park when he disappeared more than three decades ago. Campbell had set off from Hellroaring Trailhead to Jardine, Montana, outside of the park's boundaries, with his dog Freckles for a four-day trek. However, when the 42-year-old Montana man failed to appear at the designated location and time, his girlfriend, Tracy Erb, reported him missing April...

This white bison calf was born on June 4, 2024 in Yellowstone National Park. (Courtesy Photo) As of Monday, there still was no official confirmation of a rare white bison calf being born in Yellowstone National Park, but some bison advocates say it’s the real deal. Native American elders and others plan to celebrate the white calf’s birth later this month. Frequent Yellowstone visitor Erin Braaten of Kalispell, Montana, sent Cowboy State Daily photos she took of a white bison calf that she said was born in Yellowstone’s wildlife-rich Lamar Valley on June 4. There were some rumors circulating on...

A rare white buffalo has been born in Yellowstone national park, with the arrival prompting local Lakota Sioux leaders to plan a special celebration, with the calf representing a sign of hope and the need to look after the planet. The white calf was reportedly spotted shortly after its birth, on Tuesday last week, by park visitor Erin Braaten, a photographer. She took several shots of the wobbly baby ...