Despite quake, Yellowstone no threat to erupt

Despite growing concerns from local residents that Wednesday night’s 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Lincoln, Montana, was in some way a warning of a Yellowstone supervolcano eruption, reports coming out of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) are saying the opposite.

Jacob Lowenstern is the scientist-in-charge at the YVO and he was able to explain how this earthquake, while only marginally near Yellowstone, isn’t raising any concerns from himself or other experts monitoring the volcano.

“Earthquakes happen,” Lowenstern said. “There are earthquake faults all through Montana and Idaho and this particular earthquake happened a long way from Yellowstone.”

232 miles away to be exact.

This earthquake isn’t even remotely close to being the biggest or closest earthquake to pose a serious threat to the Yellowstone supervolcano.

“Throughout the history of the monitoring that has gone on here in Yellowstone that have been over 100 magnitude 7 earthquakes that have occurred near Yellowstone that haven’t caused an eruption,” Lowenstern said. “Including the 7.3 earthquake in 1959 that happen in West Yellowstone, Montana.”

That earthquake, the Hebgen Lake Earthquake, measured between 7.3 and 7.5 and caused 28 deaths and $11 million in damages and caused a landslide that blocked the Madison River and formed the aptly named Quake Lake.

Overall though, Lowenstern was quite adamant that there was nothing to be concerned about.

“Things here have been pretty steady and unchanged,” Lowenstern said. “We would need to see a strong indication that magma is moving and is going to to take a lot of movement for us to change our warning status. We really believe that this won’t change anything going on here in Yellowstone.”

A recent swarm of seismic activity in the Yellowstone area has scientists watching the park as close as ever, but at this time the Yellowstone Volcano Hazards Program is remaining at a normal warning level and is still very safe to visit.

More information can be found at volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone.