Giant Geyser Awakening?

Geyser Gazers in Yellowstone yesterday had a great kick off to 2017 with a Hot Period from Giant Geyser. 

They noticed Grotto Geyser was recovering from a “marathon” eruption – one that lasts a long time and drains the system enough to give Giant Geyser an opportunity to erupt.

This opportunity to erupt starts with what’s known as a Hot Period where the water levels rise on Giant’s Platform and the small bubblers in front of Giant’s cone begin to erupt. Geyser Gazers call the start of a Giant Hot Period when “Feather” begins to erupt and time it until either Giant erupts or when “Feather” stops.

So they headed over to Giant Geyser to see what might happen. After a couple of hours (in the cold!) of watching Bijou Geyser turn off and then on and then off repeatedly, they were rewarded with a Hot Period and the honor of witnessing what we can all hope is a return of Giant Geyser activity. I find myself deeply grateful that someone that knew enough about Giant’s behavior was there to observe and report it.

Giant Geyser may or may not erupt this year, or it may become regular enough to help more people add this to their “Geyser’s Seen” checklist. Hoping for the latter.

You can read more about the details of watching for Giant Geyser here.