Yellowstone Volcano Monthly Update issued Feb 2, 2015

YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO (VNUM #325010)
44°25'48" N 110°40'12" W, Summit Elevation 9203 ft (2805 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Seismicity

During January 2015, the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, responsible for the operation and analysis of the Yellowstone Seismic Network, reports 178 earthquakes were located in the Yellowstone National Park region. The largest event was a small earthquake of magnitude 1.9 on January 20, at 9:03 PM MST, located 6 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana. January seismicity was dominated by an earthquake swarm occurring on January 20 to 21st, about 6 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana, accounting for 135 earthquakes (ranging in magnitude from -0.7 to 1.9). The swarm included the largest earthquake in January (detailed above).

Yellowstone earthquake activity is at background levels.

Ground deformation

After a fascinating year of ups and downs, deformation in north-central Yellowstone has returned to near background levels. Caldera GPS stations continue to record the pattern of slow uplift that has persisted since the beginning of 2014. An example can be found at: http://www.unavco.org/instrumentation/networks/status/pbo/data/HVWY (click on Static Plots / Time Series)

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) provides long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.


YVO Member agencies: USGS, Yellowstone National Park, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, UNAVCO, Inc., Wyoming State Geological Survey, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Idaho Geological Survey