Yellowstone is getting shaaaaakey… From June 12-27th, there has been a swarm of earthquakes on the western rim of the park,ย which the University of Utah has numbered at 1,100 to be exact. ย The constant seismic activity is not abnormal, but the strongest quake since 2014 did occurย and maxed out at a 4.5M on the Richter scale. ย 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. ย 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 Radioย ย that,ย “Yellowstone is an active volcano, and this is kind of how they act. ย Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paying attention to it, but it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world either. ย This is the way the earth works.” ย Sounds good to me, becauseย 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? ^..^