YELLOWSTONE VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT

U.S. Geological Survey

Thursday, June 15, 2017, 9:03 PM MDT (Friday, June 16, 2017, 03:03 UTC)

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

The University of Utah, a YVO member agency, sent out the following press release about a magnitude 4.5 earthquake near West Yellowstone, MT that occurred at 6:48 PM MDT.

PRESS RELEASE

University of Utah Seismograph Stations

Released: June 15, 2017 07:55 PM MDT

The University of Utah Seismograph Stations reports that a light earthquake of magnitude 4.5 occurred at 06:48 PM on June 15, 2017 (MDT). The epicenter of the shock was located in Yellowstone National Park, eight miles north-northeast of the town of West Yellowstone, Montana. The earthquake was reported felt in the towns of West Yellowstone and Gardiner, Montana, in Yellowstone National Park, and elsewhere in the surrounding region. Today’s earthquake is part of an energetic sequence of earthquakes in the same area that began on June 12. This sequence has included approximately thirty earthquakes of magnitude 2 and larger and four earthquakes of magnitude 3 and larger, including today’s magnitude 4.5 event. Today’s earthquake is the largest earthquake to occur in Yellowstone National Park since March 30, 2014, when a magnitude 4.8 event occurred 18 miles to the east, near Norris Geyser Basin.

Anyone who felt the earthquake is encouraged to fill out a survey form either on the Seismograph Stations website: www.quake.utah.edu or the US Geological Survey website: earthquake.usgs.gov.

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