Yellowstone National Park visitors got an explosive surprise on Tuesday.
Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin usually looks calm. Piping hot water bubbles up from underground. It appears a bright turquoise color. It turns the nearby rocks rust orange. Tourists view Biscuit Basin from boardwalks a safe distance away. The stink of sulfur tickles their noses.
But at 10:00 am on Tuesday, Black Diamond erupted. Steam, water, rock, and dirt shot into the sky.
Tourists ran. Hot steam filled the area around the pool.
Visitor Vlada March caught the blast on video. She and her family were taking a tour. Their guide noticed something unusual stirring.
“I think our tour guide said ‘Run,’” recalls Mrs. March. “And I started running and I started screaming at the kids, ‘Run, run, run.’ And I continued filming what I could.”
Falling rock smashed the walkway where the family had been standing. Thankfully, no one was injured. But park officials closed the Biscuit Basin area for safety.
“What we saw today was spectacular and definitely hazardous,” says scientist Mike Poland. He works with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. “It’s a very good reminder of an underappreciated hazard in Yellowstone.”
Pools in Biscuit Basin have blown before. Similar blasts happened in 2009, 1991, and after an earthquake in 1959.
Yellowstone sits atop a giant volcano. The heat of magma creates the hot springs and geysers tourists love to see. (That includes the famous Old Faithful geyser.) It is also a dangerous place for visitors who ignore the rules. Park officials lay out safe trails and boardwalks. Those who stray risk falling through the thin, rocky crust. Underneath that crust? Scalding hot water. Ouch.
These natural thermal features can be unpredictable. Tuesday’s Biscuit Basin visitors followed the rules. But they still got a scare!
Yellowstone reminds us of God’s beauty and creativity. It also reminds us of His awesome power. But God’s power doesn’t scare us or hurt us. It protects us—even when we stray off the right path.
Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. — Psalm 62:11-12
