Tall Yellowstone geyser sets record with recent activity

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – The world’s tallest active geyser has set a record.

Last weekend, Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park erupted for the 30th time this year. That’s the most eruptions since 1964, when the geyser erupted 29 times.

Steamboat can blast hot water and steam as high as 400 feet (122 metres). That’s more than three times the average height of Yellowstone’s most famous geyser, Old Faithful.

Park officials say Steamboat also went through active periods in the early 1960s and early 1980s, but was quiet for a 50-year spell, from 1911 to 1961.

The most recent eruption happened at 1 a.m. Saturday. Most roads in Yellowstone are closed for the winter and the park hasn’t opened to snowmobiles yet.