Steamboat Geyser

Steamboat Geyser is a geyser in Yellowstone National Park’s Norris Geyser Basin. Its major eruptions produce the tallest recorded water fountains of any geyser.

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Hydrothermal circulation: The movement of heated water through permeable rock, driven by heat and pressure differences. Circulating groundwater supplies the heat and water that feed Steamboat’s eruptions.
Steamboat Geyser major eruption: A rare, powerful Steamboat Geyser event that ejects water far higher than its frequent minor bursts. Major eruptions are the towering events behind the geyser’s height records.
Geyser eruption prediction: The effort to forecast when and how strongly a geyser will erupt from observations and physical models. Steamboat’s irregular major eruptions resist reliable prediction.
Yellowstone National Park: A United States national park in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, with extensive geothermal features. Steamboat lies within Yellowstone, whose protected landscape contains its hydrothermal system.
Geyser: A hot spring that intermittently ejects water and steam through a surface vent. Steamboat is an unusually powerful example of this eruptive spring type.
Steamboat Geyser minor eruption: A smaller, more frequent burst of water from Steamboat Geyser, usually much lower than a major eruption. Minor eruptions occur between the geyser’s landmark major events.
Geyser plumbing system: The subsurface passages and cavities through which water and steam move in a geyser. Its hidden plumbing cannot be mapped completely, limiting explanations of eruption timing.
Norris Geyser Basin Museum: A small visitor museum in Yellowstone’s Norris Geyser Basin focused on the area’s geothermal features. It presents the basin’s hydrothermal setting near Steamboat’s area.
Norris Geyser Basin: A hydrothermal area in Yellowstone National Park, known for its acidic springs and highly dynamic geysers. Steamboat’s behavior unfolds within this changing hydrothermal basin.
Steamboat Geyser 2018–2020 eruption phase: A period of frequent major eruptions at Steamboat Geyser beginning in 2018 and continuing into 2020. This cluster demonstrated a sustained increase in major activity after years of relative quiet.