The interesting thing about geysers and pools is how relatively predictable they are... until they are not. A mathematical and statistical person would have a lot of fun building prediction models for all the different geysers.
It's so popular that one of the datasets immediately available in base R is the set of waiting times between eruptions for a Yellowstone geyser [1].
[1] https://www.rdocumentation.org/packages/datasets/versions/3....
I’m not sure that it’s particularly more regular than most other geysers, but that’s what is known for.
I really really want to underscore this point.
You're literally standing on top of ground and under that is boiling water.
If that breaks and you fall in you're going to be in boiling water with no way to get out and you will die screaming.
Also NEVER walk on ground that has no vegetation. If you look around a geyser you will see that the ground is white and has no vegetation. That's because the temperature is too high and it has water under it that's heating the ground.
Walk on that and there's a chance you will fall in.
In the back country there are no fences so you can fall right through the crust.
There are also places on this planet where toxicity issues preclude vegetation. If there are fumes coming through the soil so powerful that grass doesn't grow, take the hint.
My sidewalk has no vegetation, but that is because I weedwhacked on Tuesday not because a geyser 10 meters away is flash boiling water in a pressure vessel made of stone and glass shrapnel-to-be.
Those with uncovered skin suffered horribly, and it’s quite surprisingly how little covering was helpful.
There is a good documentary on it [2].
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Whakaari_/_White_Island...
My cousin is in hydrogeology as well! Fascinating subject!
It has a pretty irregular major eruption pattern. What people often forget, is that geysers don't wait for the day time, so many events occur at night when nobody is around to witness the beauty. When a geyser like this only erupts a handful of times a year and for approximately 3 minutes, you have to get very very very lucky to witness it. Especially when you take into account how enormous YNP is.
[1] https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/steamboat-geyser.htm#:....
What would be the point of running if the Yellowstone Caldera actually goes bang? I mean, where would you run to? The resulting destruction would be greater than that experienced by the asteroid collision that ended the dinosaurs.
You're better off staying put and vaporising than dying of asphyxiation a week later.
1. This issue is not some precursor to the caldera becoming active - it is a irregular but normal part of areas with geysers.
2. If a geyser, hot spring, etc starts looking different, acting different, or there is an unexpected explosion run away from it quickly. The negative effects will be localized so distance is helpful.
It might just save your life.
If when looking up, the object has an apparent motion (left/right/back), it won't hit you, and certainly don't move in the direction it appears to be moving. If it appears stationary in the sky, it WILL hit you or very close, so move fast. Best default strategy with limited time & options is to hug the rock face, especially under an overhang.
I hereby dub this the Ridley Scott's Prometheus Rule
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constant_bearing,_decreasing_r...
It's also a real problem for certain intersection angles where vehicles or bicycles with unfortunate timing will be obscured behind the A-Pillar until nearly too late. There was an article (iirc) on HN years ago about just such an intersection repeatedly injuring/killing bicyclists. I once had to seriously threshold brake at an off-angle intersection to avoid a fire truck running a red light, when the timing/speed/distance/angle all lined up to hide the entire truck behind the A-Pillar for a few seconds approaching the intersection.
So, if you don't have any clues, and have a half second to make your choice, I suppose it's better than no rule of thumb, but I wouldn't rely on it as a primary technique.
Interested because I was there a few weeks ago.
Local explosions like this are not very indicative of movements in the county-sized reservoir of magma ten times deeper down that underlies the entire caldera.
Local hydrothermal basin, upper magma chamber, lower magma chamber, mantle plume: https://www.yellowstonepark.com/news/supervolcano-magma-cham...
Yellowstone tourists have a proud tradition of not running from things they should be.
As Sean Connery says in Hunt for Red October, "We must give this American a wide berth."
I think of it as the National Park discontinuity: few people these days have experience being in environments that can be rapidly lethal.
And there isn't a sign in National Parks saying "Past this line, there are apex predators, dangerous natural features, no cell phone service, and/or the nearest medical facility being a backcountry airlift away."
That's a big change from most people's everyday normal.