Yellowstone is getting shaaaaakey… From June 12-27th, there has been a swarm of earthquakes on the western rim of the park, which the University of Utah has numbered at 1,100 to be exact. The constant seismic activity is not abnormal, but the strongest quake since 2014 did occur and maxed out at a 4.5M on the Richter scale. A 4.5 is usually felt, but does not cause major damage.
Yet the area’s activity is getting a lot of attention because Yellowstone is still an active supervolcano, which theoretically could erupt at any moment and ash us all. Should you be buying a boat and heading out to sea to find a deserted island out of the grasp of the supervolcano to claim as your new homestead?
Ask Jamie Farrell, a University of Utah seismologist, who said on Montana Public Radio that, “Yellowstone is an active volcano, and this is kind of how they act. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paying attention to it, but it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world either. This is the way the earth works.” Sounds good to me, because I couldn’t afford a boat anyways.
Is this a kind of “pressure-relieving” activity? If it were quiet for a few weeks, would seismologists get a little anxious? ^..^