Yellowstone volcano (Wyoming): YVO activity update

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) report that over the month of March 2020, 111 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest earthquake measured magnitude 3.1 located 5 miles north-northwest of West Yellowstone, MT, on March 31 at 9:36 AM MDT.

The monthly seismicity in Yellowstone included two earthquake swarms:

1) The largest earthquake swarm occurred about 7 miles east-northeast of West Yellowstone, MT, during March 21-29 and included 19 earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 0.0 to 2.1. The largest swarm event occurred on March 28 at 10:11 PM MDT.

2) A swarm of 15 earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 0.1 to 1.7 occurred about 9 miles east of West Yellowstone, MT, during March 5-14. The largest swarm event occurred on March 12 at 2:51 AM MDT.

Yellowstone earthquake activity remains at background levels.

“Subsidence of Yellowstone caldera, which has been ongoing since 2015, continues at an average rate of 2-3 cm (about 1 inch) per year with minor fluctuations related to seasonal changes. In the area of Norris Geyser Basin, GPS data indicated the start of subsidence in September 2019, accumulating about 3 cm (a little over 1 in) of subsidence to the end of the year. That subsidence paused in early 2020, and no significant changes at Norris have been recorded since the start of the year.”