July 16, 2026

An earthquake has struck Yellowstone National Park just miles from an ancient supervolcano feared to be overdue for a catastrophic eruption.

The US Geological Survey detected a magnitude 3.3 quake at 9.20am ET Thursday morning right along the Yellowstone River inside the Wyoming park.

The minor quake’s epicenter was recorded just seven miles from the Yellowstone caldera, the bowl-shaped volcanic depression within the famous national park.

Last year, scientists discovered tens of thousands of previously unrecorded earthquakes which could be hinting that Yellowstone’s supervolcano is building up to an eruption.

An international research team used AI to listen to 15 years of Yellowstone recordings and discovered 86,000 tiny earthquakes that human experts had missed. That was about ten times the number of quakes researchers previously believed had taken place.

In the past three weeks, 11 minor quakes have been recorded by USGS in the area around the caldera.

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake jolted Yellowstone National Park Thursday morning, striking just seven miles from the massive caldera of the ancient supervolcano long watched for signs of trouble. The US Geological Survey said the quake hit along the Yellowstone River in Wyoming at 9:20 a.m. ET, as fresh concern swirls after scientists last year uncovered 86,000 previously missed quakes in the park — roughly ten times more than believed — and USGS has logged 11 minor quakes around the caldera in just the past three weeks.

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