One of Yellowstone National Park's dormant geysers erupted in early January for the first time in 25 years.

Economic Geyser was revived on January 7, 2024 at 7:56 AM. according to To Graham Meech of the Observer and Cowboy State Daily. No, we're not talking about British men who work in the financial industry. “economic geyser” is the name of one of Yellowstone’s most fascinating phenomena, located in the park’s upper geyser basin near Old Faithful.

Meech share If you watch the video of the eruption on Facebook, it looks majestic.

This geyser was once active, but has been inactive since 1999. The last time the geyser was inactive was during the Great Depression of the 1920s, which may be the origin of the geyser's name. “The last time there was an actual continuous eruption was in 1975,” Mike Poland, director of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, told the magazine. “Isolated eruptions were observed in 1997 and 1999, but nothing since then until last week.”

Meach was present for the last explosion in 1999 and watched Economic Geyser explode 48 times in January. Each eruption was about 5 to 20 minutes apart, and most eruptions were fairly small. But there were also a few large ones that sent water up to 20 feet into the air and flooded nearby boardwalks. (Related: Scans reveal serious hidden threats beneath Yellowstone National Park)

“It's fun (but) not particularly unusual,” Poland said, noting that some geysers seem to have a mind of their own regarding dormancy and activity. “Yellowstone's geysers do this all the time. Giant (the geyser) has been erupting several times a year for decades, but then in the past 23 years it has only erupted four times. .”

However, future visitors should not have high expectations. The Economic Geyser will probably go back to sleep for a while, but there is no doubt that it will be active again at some point (probably not soon).