Yellowstone national park hit with multiple earthquakes in 24 hours
Latest seismic activity occurred as Yellowstone reopened to more visitors on Monday
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.More than a dozen earthquakes struck an area near Yellowstone National Park within 24 hours.
The US Geological Survey (USGS), who monitor seismic activity across the US, recorded the latest earthquake swarm to hit the area on Friday.
The USGS data recorded 20 significant earthquakes with 1.5 magnitudes or higher on that day, amongst dozens more smaller tremors.
The largest earthquake was recorded at 3.1 magnitude and struck at a depth of 6 miles, at 11:39am on 29 May.
That came amongst some 16 earthquakes and smaller tremors which struck an area near West Yellowstone, Montana, on 29 May, between 10:50am and 11:50am.
According to the USGS’s own earthquake map, around 70 earthquakes and tremors were recorded on Friday alone.
The tremors struck 15 miles outside the Yellowstone National Park, with depths between 1.4 miles and 6 miles below ground.
It comes after 43 earthquakes with magnitudes over 1.5 have hit the same area over the past 30 days, according to Earthquake Track.
The national park’s website says that so-called earthquake swarms are not unusual at Yellowstone, and account for about 50 per cent of all tremors in the area.
The park also states that most earthquakes are magnitude 2 or below and so they are not felt by anyone.
Yellowstone is among the most seismically active places in the US, and sees around 700 to 3,000 earthquakes every year.
On Monday, the park’s Montana entrances were reopened to visitors after the state removed 14-day quarantine rules amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yellowstone’s Wyoming and Idaho entrances have also reopened to day visitors.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments