Magnitude 3.3 earthquake rattles Yellowstone National Park near infamous supervolcano
It happened just miles from an ancient supervolcano feared to be overdue for a catastrophic eruption.
FILE: Eruption at Yellowstone National Park caught on camera
The USGS released this video of an eruption at Black Diamond Pool in Yellowstone National Park that happened May 31, 2025.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming - An earthquake rattled Yellowstone National Park near its infamous supervolcano on Thursday morning.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck right along the Yellowstone River inside the national park in Wyoming around 1:20 p.m. UTC, or 8:20 a.m. ET.
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The earthquake struck at a depth of 6.5 kilometers, or 4 miles, about 24.2 miles from Mammoth.
General views of Crackling Lake in the Norris Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park on May 27, 2021 in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
(AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Getty Images)
It happened just miles from an ancient supervolcano feared to be overdue for a catastrophic eruption. While a catastrophic supereruption is not anticipated in our lifetime, the area is heavily monitored by the USGS to track its magma system, pressure valves and hydrothermal activity.
There was also a separate magnitude 3.2 earthquake that happened in Wyoming on Thursday — that one near Little America in Sweetwater County.
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Yellowstone is classified as a supervolcano because its past major eruptions reached a magnitude of 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI), each releasing over 1,000 cubic kilometers of magma and ash, according to Outside.
large prismatic fountain II, yellowstone-united states
(livcool / Getty Images)
The three eruptions happened 2.1 million, 1.2 million and 640,000 years ago, respectively. The Yellowstone eruption area collapsed upon itself, creating a giant crater, or caldera, 1,500 square miles in area.
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While Yellowstone is frequently rattled by small earthquakes — averaging 1,500 to 2,500 per year — the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory notes that larger, damaging earthquakes have also struck the area.
Located near the south entrance to Yellowstone, Moose Falls is a short hike from the road.
(Sparty1711)
The park's largest recorded earthquake, a magnitude 6, occurred on June 30, 1975, along the north-central boundary of Yellowstone Caldera, a few miles southeast of Norris Geyser Basin. No injuries were reported, and all park campgrounds and facilities remained open.
Yellowstone became the first national park, and today, millions of people visit each year to camp, hike and enjoy the park, according to the National Park Service.