June was somewhat of a slow month for earthquakes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, with only 78 measurable tremblers in the month of June. The largest earthquake last month was a 2.8 quake on June 17 just south of Yellowstone National Park’s southern border.

Despite the relatively light month for earthquakes, the park’s geysers more than made up for the lackluster month with several developments, said Mike Poland, Yellowstone Volcano Observatory’s scientist-in-charge.

“Geysers and hotspots are some of the most dynamic geologic features on the planet. They’re always changing. And sometimes that change happens in places that we can actually see and appreciate. That’s been the case the last few weeks here on geyser hill near Old Faith,” he said in a recent published release.

It all began late in May, Poland said, with Aurum geyser, which began erupting for the first time in two years — it had repeated eruptions over the weeks that followed.

Aurum can, at times, be very predictable, according to scientists at Montana State University. At other times it can be erratic. The National Park Service reports Aurum geyser is constantly boiling in its main vent, a small pool surrounded by raised sinter deposits almost forming a cone structure.

The surrounding area is covered in hard sinter and a few other smaller steaming vents. Before an earthquake in 1983, Aurum was actively boiling but eruptions were rare. Previously, eruptions were irregular at best, ranging from 22 hours to over two weeks. Eruptions can rise 20 feet for about 70 seconds, the park said.

Observations have led to the theory that Aurum’s activity is linked to the meadow behind the geyser. When the meadow is wet, activity is more predictable.

Beehive geyser, a well-known geyser that erupts about once a day, has began to erupt a “bit more frequently,” Poland said.

Dublin pool, also in Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin, has also seen increased activity. In early June, a small feature formed just next to Dublin pool; right underneath the boardwalk, splashing hot water onto the boardwalk. The park was forced to close a portion of the pathway through the basin.

“An area on Geyser Hill was closed in late May or early June,” said Yellowstone spokesperson Linda Veress. “The activity has not substantially increased or changed since that time, but the area remains closed and is being monitored.”

Poland reports that the new, unfortunately located feature threw a lot of debris up onto the boardwalk and some rocks and materials are visible on the walkway. It is tempting to think that magma is causing the changes, but Poland said “it’s just Yellowstone being Yellowstone.”

“This is really more an example of the dynamic nature of Yellowstone’s hydrothermal system. It’s like the plumbing in an old house always springing leaks,” Poland said.

Poland suggested that while some websites might find the geothermal activity to be troublesome, it shouldn’t change any plans to visit the park.

“A lot of the click-baity stuff online might only influence people who were not planning on visiting the park anytime soon anyway,” he said, having previously told the Tribune that there are many less than ethical websites online that attach salacious headlines to stories — as could have been done with the 78 earthquakes — to drive clicks despite misleading readers.

Poland also said the staff at the Observatory remains very interested in the new thermal area near Tern Lake. The area isn’t readily accessible to the public, but “is a fascinating area, being the youngest thermal region in the park,” he said.

Last year a team of geologists visited to take gas samples, map temperatures and collect tree samples to understand the history of the area through dendrochronology.