Mammoth in Yellowstone National Park in Park County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)
Porkchop Geyser
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 31, 2015
1. Porkchop Geyser Marker
The upended rocks before you are the result of Porkchop Geyser’s hydrothermal explosion in 1989. Porkchop’s vent failed to relieve a surge in underground pressure; it exploded creating another chapter in the geyser’s dramatic history of change. Porkchop has behaved as a quiet hot spring, a geyser, a perpetual spouter, and after the explosion, a hot spring again. Geologists attribute changes like the 1989 explosion to geologic events underground – heat shifts, earthquakes, mineral build-up, and pressure changes. Exactly which event often remains a mystery.
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Natural Features.
Location. 44° 43.335′ N, 110° 42.464′ W. Marker is in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, in Park County. It is in Mammoth. It can be reached from Grand Loop Road (U.S. 89), on the left when traveling north. Marker is located in the Back Basin at Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Yellowstone National Park WY 82190, United States
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Regionally, this marker is in the Bighorn Basin and in Greater Yellowstone. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A different marker also named Porkchop Geyser (within shouting distance of this marker); Cistern Spring (approx. 0.2 miles away); Minute Geyser (approx. 0.2 miles away); Steamboat Geyser (approx. ¼ mile away); Echinus (approx. ¼ mile away); Echinus (approx. ¼ mile away); Emerald Spring (approx. 0.3 miles away); Yellowstone National Park (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Yellowstone National Park.
More about this marker. Two photographs on the right side of the marker has captions of “Porkchop Geyser’s vent has at times been as small as a garden hose.” and “The hydrothermal explosion in 1989 changed Porkchop’s vent to approximately 7 feet (2 meters) in diameter.”
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 31, 2015
2. Porkchop Geyser Marker
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 31, 2015
3. Marker at the Norris Geyser Basin
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 31, 2015
4. Porkchop Geyser
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on September 9, 2015, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 539 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 9, 2015, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
