Officials closed part of the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming due to the expanding fissures from Yellowstone supervolcano.
According to a statement released by the National Park Service, Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point shut down to prevent future risks. Park Rangers started risk assessments around the area.
David Vela, Superintendent of the park, commented,
Human safety is our number one priority, and with an abundance of caution we are temporarily closing this area until we can properly assess the situation.”
The park is located on top of the supervolcano. It had last erupted 630,000 years ago— spewing out two hundred and forty miles of ash and volcanic dust into the air. Scientists say the likelihood of that happening again is slim. The supervolcano would need massive seismic activity across the entire park. In fact, the US Geological Survey said the odds of Yellowstone erupting for the fourth time is 0.00014%.
SCIENTIST SAYS THAT ANOTHER ERUPTION IS UNLIKELY
Jacob Lowenstern, Head Scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory in Menlo Park, California, said, “The Earth will see super-eruptions in the future, but will they come in Yellowstone? That’s not a sure thing. Yellowstone’s already lived a good, long life. It may not even see a fourth eruption.”
The park has not commented on when it will reopen its closed areas.
Featured Image via/ TIME
