Yelowstone Quakes Set Off Cyber Alarms

An intense study is going on with the University of Utah scientists busily analyzing a "swarm" of 900 earthquakes that have struck Yellowstone National Park since December 26. I heard one man on the news say if a gigantic volcano should erupt in Yellowstone it could endanger the entire United States. Frightening isn't it? However, I guess someone has put some scary stuff on the Internet advising people to flee but those studying the earthquakes say they take the public safety very seriously. There never was any damage and there is nothing that indicates a potential catastrophe.

However, this swarm is noteworthy for its intensity and the speed with which it appeared, then dissipated, around Tuesday. The underground movement of superheated water is the suspected cause, but regular old tectonic activity could be playing a role as well. The strongest registered 3.9 on Dec. 28 and was felt by park personnel 30 miles from its epicenter at Old Faithful. But many people in Salt Lake City, 300 miles to the south claimed to have felt it too. That is very unusual. One report was 1,300 miles away and said they felt it. It has been 50 years since the last major earthquake in Yellowstone.