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Yellowstone National Park is Moving

05/21/2011 2 comments

By Brent Hunsaker – “Yellowstone sits atop one of the world’s biggest, active volcanoes, one capable of laying waste to much of north America.

… Professor Emeritus Robert Smith of the University of Utah … says the park is in constant motion. Visitors can’t see it, but the ground at their feet is moving up and down as magma pushes against the thin crust and powers the park’s many geysers.

The changes are most evident at the Norris Geyser Basin. Henry Heasler, the Yellowstone Park geologist said, ‘It changes daily. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the change near boardwalks because that impacts visitor and employee safety.’

‘Why are all the hydrothermal features here?’ Heasler continued, ‘The geysers? The mud pots? The steam vents? The hot springs? It’s because of the heat beneath our feet.’

The heat from the volcano.

And beginning in 2004, volcanic pressure caused an amazing rise at the park: Three-inches a year for five-years.” Read more.

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