The Steamboat geyser at Yellowstone Volcano smashed the record for the number of eruptions in a single year over 2019. In its monthly update of activity, the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) confirmed there were 48 eruptions last year. That’s 16 more than the previous record set in 2018, when there were 32 eruptions at Steamboat.
Steamboat is the world’s tallest currently active geyser. It has two vents, with the north one producing the highest water columns—up to around 300 feet into the air. Eruptions at Steamboat do not take place at regular intervals, and sometimes it does not erupt for decades. In 1961, it erupted for the first time in 50 years. It also experienced “quiet periods” during the 1990s and late 2000s, National Park Service notes. In this time, there were years between single eruptions.