It is not the super-eruption
Yellowstone鈥檚 real everyday hazard is steam, not a super-volcano.
Yellowstone is a pressurised hydrothermal system - a maze of hot water and steam under the geyser basins. Its most likely damaging event is not a super-eruption but a hydrothermal explosion, where trapped steam blows out a crater in seconds. The caldera also hums with thousands of small quakes a year.
What is happening at Yellowstone
Yellowstone sits over one of the world鈥檚 largest active volcanic systems. The US Geological Survey monitors it for three things at once: volcanic, hydrothermal and earthquake activity.
Most of the action is earthquake swarms and the shifting of hot fluids, not magma heading for the surface. Hydrothermal explosions - sudden bursts of steam and rock in the geyser basins - are the hazard visitors are most likely to meet.
The hazard record here
THE RECORD HERE
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck here in 1959.
Epicentre: The 1959 Hebgen Lake, Montana Earthquake.
Live figures from the QuakeMate hazard API - USGS earthquake catalog, NOAA tsunami database and published recurrence estimates. Some fields are blank where there is no record.
Recent earthquakes at Yellowstone
- 1.245 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana2 weeks ago 路 11/07/2026, 23:02:24 路 4 km deep
- 1.446 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana2 weeks ago 路 11/07/2026, 23:01:54 路 3 km deep
- 0.236 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana2 weeks ago 路 15/07/2026, 07:33:36 路 7 km deep
- 1.434 km SE of West Yellowstone, Montana2 weeks ago 路 17/07/2026, 00:07:16 路 2 km deep
- 0.430 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana1 week ago 路 23/07/2026, 03:40:02 路 6 km deep
- 0.329 km ESE of West Yellowstone, Montana1 day ago 路 31/07/2026, 06:34:22 路 6 km deep
88 more earthquakes at Yellowstone
Open the QuakeMate app to see every quake here, sorted and mapped - plus real-time alerts when a new one strikes.
Notable events
1959
The M7.3 Hebgen Lake quake just west of the park killed 28 and dammed a river.
1985
A major earthquake swarm - thousands of quakes over months - near the caldera.
2018
The Steamboat Geyser began a record run of eruptions.
What scientists watch
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory watches ground deformation, swarm activity and changes in the geyser basins to separate ordinary restlessness from anything unusual.
Staying ahead of it
Hydrothermal explosions and swarm quakes give almost no notice - alerts turn "did you feel that?" into a confirmed event in seconds.
Get QuakeMate freeGet warned before the next one at Yellowstone.
QuakeMate sends a push the instant the ground moves - plus tsunami and volcano alerts. Free to download.
Yellowstone: common questions
Is the Yellowstone super-volcano about to erupt?
There is no sign of that. The system is restless in the ordinary sense - quake swarms and shifting hot fluids - which the USGS monitors continuously. A caldera-forming eruption is not considered likely on any human timescale.
What is a hydrothermal explosion?
A sudden burst of steam, hot water and rock when pressure in the shallow plumbing releases fast. These are Yellowstone鈥檚 most frequent violent hazard and can happen with little warning in the geyser basins.
How many earthquakes does Yellowstone have?
Typically one to three thousand a year, most too small to feel and often in swarms. QuakeMate shows the current activity on the live map above.
Related hazard zones
Earthquake data via the QuakeMate API (USGS, EMSC and regional agencies). Historical notes summarise well-established events; magnitudes and dates follow the published record. Live figures may be revised.