A new thermal vent spewing steam in the air at Yellowstone National Park is gaining attention, mainly because it's visible from a road—not because it's a sign of significant change in the park famous for its thousands of geysers, hot springs, and bubbling mud pots. When Yellowstone's roads open to car traffic in April, tourists will be able to view the new steam column from a pullout as long as the vent remains active. It's located in an area about a mile north of the Norris Geyser Basin, per the AP.
The thermal feature was first spotted by scientists last summer and inspired them to trudge across a marsh and measure 171-degree steam venting from the base of a wooded hill. A thin coat of gray mud confirmed the vent was new, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, which is overseen by the US Geological Survey. Mike Poland, scientist in charge of the observatory, said such features are often forming and constantly changing in Yellowstone.
"The feature itself is new. That there would be a new feature is, you know, mundane," he said. "The noteworthy part ... was just that it was so noticeable." The new steam plume is located within a 200-foot area of warm ground and appears to be related to hot water that surfaced as a new feature 700 feet away in 2003.
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