WYOMING – An earthquake swarm in Yellowstone near Hebgen Lake is being monitored by park officials and University of Utah scientists, who maintain the seismograph stations in Yellowstone.
According to data from the US Geological Survey (USGS), the swarm began on Monday and has persisted all week. More than 30 earthquakes with a magnitude 2 or higher have been recorded. Nine of those quakes registered higher than 2.5, with the latest being a 4.4 magnitude quake which was recorded at 6:46pm on Thursday, June 15. It was the largest earthquake in Yellowstone since a 4.8 was confirmed in March 2014.
The swarm activity is centered in the northwest part of the park just east of the confluence of Gneiss Creek and Campanula Creek. It is within a few miles of east Hebgen Lake where a monster quake killed 28 people in 1959. That registered around a 7.4 on the Richter magnitude score.
The largest bump on Thursday evening was felt in West Yellowstone, some 8 miles away. Police there say there are no reports of damage.
Representatives from Yellowstone meanwhile issued the following statement:
“Yellowstone experiences thousands of earthquakes every year, sometimes in swarms of hundreds over days or weeks. These earthquakes help maintain geysers by keeping the ‘plumbing’ system open. Most quakes are too small to be felt, but last night a magnitude 4.5 shook the ground near the park’s West Entrance.”
