A new thermal pool has erupted onto the scene in Yellowstone National Park — slowly.
During routine surveys in mid-April 2025, park geologists noticed the new feature within the Norris Geyser Basin. The feature — a blue spring — had not been observed when geologists last surveyed the area in the Fall of 2024. However, looking back at satellite and seismic monitoring data, park experts identified the date the pool emerged, and it may have sprung up just in time for this last holiday season.
New Blue Hot Spring in Yellowstone
Norris Geyser Basin is one of the most prominent hot spots in Yellowstone National Park. Full of a variety of thermal features, the basin is split into two sections: Porcelain Basin, where the team located the new spring, and Back Basin.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the spring is approximately 13 feet across, and the light blue water inside it is about 109 degrees Fahrenheit and sits about one foot below the spring’s rim.
Park geologists noted that around the spring, there were rocks, about one foot in length, covered in gray, silty, fine-grained mud. The same material seemed to coat the inside of the spring. This evidence suggests that a hydrothermal explosion likely caused the formation of this spring.
Read More: Yellowstone Bison Meets Tragic End at Hot Spring, Showing the Danger of Hydrothermal Features
Monitoring New Thermal Springs
A hydrothermal explosion in Norris Geyser Basin is no surprise. According to the National Park Service, the Norris Geyser Basin has been home to hydrothermal activity for over 115,000 years. Some of the major events that occurred here likely happened before researchers began recording data.
However, some major events, such as the 1989 explosion of Porkchop Geyser, have been well-documented. And thankfully, with new, modern monitoring devices, park experts can get the most up-to-date and real-time data on hydrothermal events in this area, like the hydrothermal explosion that occurred on April 15, 2024.
This new technology includes a monitoring station that experts installed in 2023 around the Norris Geyser Basin. The station features equipment that monitors tremors in the Earth, tracks and measures low-frequency sound waves known as infrasound, and provides GPS services.
The other device the geologists use is satellite imagery from NASA. The combination of this data helped researchers pinpoint just when this new feature began to open up.
A One-Day Affair or a Series of Events?
Data from satellite imagery isn’t always useful when it comes to monitoring these features, due to cloudy weather or nighttime observations. However, from the satellite data, the team determined that on December 19, 2024, there was no indication of the new spring. However, by January 6, 2025, the feature has started to emerge. And by February 13, 2025, the feature had fully emerged.
By using the data collected from the monitoring station and analyzing the infrasound frequencies, the team found that there was a series of small, low-level acoustic signals emerging from the direction of the new spring.
The most prominent of these signals occurred on December 25, 2024; however, it was nothing a large as some of the other explosions recorded in the area. What the data implies is that no single event created this feature. Instead, a series of smaller events led to the new spring. What researchers do know is that the new spring made it just in time for the holidays.
Read More: Could Yellowstone National Park Visitors See New Thermal Feature Again This Summer?
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
NPS. Norris Geyser Basin
USGS. A New Monitoring Site Track Hydrothermal Activity Norris Geyser Basin
USGS. Using High Resolution Commercial Satellite Images Help Map And Monitor Yellowstone's Thermal Areas
A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time bingeing Doctor Who.
