<p>Old faithful still erupts regularly, but at some point conditions in geology will change and it will cease activity.  <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a> says that ~1300 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, but only 1/3 of those are active in a given year.  Do geysers typically go dormant for long periods of time?  How long do they typically stay active before going extinct?  </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-15T03:53:21.373Z
This video on how geysers work will help you get started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4zA_YPCyHs You will quickly see how many factors like rainfall and aquifer charge can affect activity.
John
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-05-15T12:06:09.967Z
I looked at some papers, but couldn't find any about long term geyser data (i.e. over time spans of decades plus). However, in [one paper](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2003GL017853/full) I saw a reference that [this guy](https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/steven-ingebritsen) has raw time series data for geysers in Yellowstone (you are supposed to contact him at his USGS e-mail to get more info). That's my detective lead if you want to investigate further.
kingledion
<geology><geysers>
How long do geysers typically stay active in Yellowstone?
f.thorpe
# How long do geysers typically stay active in Yellowstone?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-05-15)

Old faithful still erupts regularly, but at some point conditions in geology will change and it will cease activity. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geyser) says that ~1300 geysers have erupted in Yellowstone, but only 1/3 of those are active in a given year. Do geysers typically go dormant for long periods of time? How long do they typically stay active before going extinct?

**Tags:** geology, geysers

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This video on how geysers work will help you get started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4zA_YPCyHs You will quickly see how many factors like rainfall and aquifer charge can affect activity.  
> **username_2**: I looked at some papers, but couldn't find any about long term geyser data (i.e. over time spans of decades plus). However, in [one paper](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2003GL017853/full) I saw a reference that [this guy](https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/steven-ingebritsen) has raw time series data for geysers in Yellowstone (you are supposed to contact him at his USGS e-mail to get more info). That's my detective lead if you want to investigate further.  

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## 0 answers

