Yellowstone's Valentine Geyser Comes to Life Again After Two Decades of Inactivity
Valentine Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park is open for business. The long-dormant geyser unexpectedly came back to life in 2025. The geyser, named by C.W. Bronson, a hotel manager, and his wife, also has a soulmate. The soulmate in question is Guardian Geyser in the Norris Geyser Basin, which exhibits the same eruption pattern as the Valentine Geyser, according to Cowboy State Daily. People expected the Valentine Geyser would stun couples on the day of love. However, the park officials have closed the entire basin since mid-October, so nothing of that sort panned out. The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory monitors the geyser.
Valentine Geyser came back to life in August 2025, after two decades of dormancy, according to Buckrail. The geyser is located north of the Norris Geyser Basin museum on the hillside. Valentine Geyser also stands out due to the six-foot-high cone from which it erupts; it is possibly the largest cone in all of Norris Geyser Basin. Experts are unsure whether the cone is a thin layer of sinter placed over bedrock or a solid silica sinter. It also remains unknown when exactly the Valentine Geyser was formed. C.W. Bronson and his wife saw the geyser erupt on Valentine’s Day 1907 or 1909. Later, there were some sensational reports that the geyser released “ice-cold” water; however, no proof ever came. As per scientists, it is a typical geyser.
The Bronson couple witnessed mud, rocks, and water rise out from the active hot spring. “I heard a lot of noise across the basin and went to tell my wife that something was blowing up on the other hillside,” Bronson shared. “We both watched it and, on coming closer, found that it was coming from what had been a very small hot spring – one which up till then seemed to be just barely alive.” After the eruption concluded, only a huge pit was reportedly left behind. Lee H. Whittlesey’s book “Yellowstone Place Names” shares that Bronson placed a sign “Valentine” written on it next to the geyser, and Valentine Geyser came into existence.
Since its first documented eruption in August 2025, the geyser came to life every 4 to 6 days until mid-October, per the United States Geological Survey (USGS), according to My Country 95.5. After that, they are unsure of its activity, as the entire Norris Geyser Basin went under wraps. Experts can’t predict whether the Valentine Geyser remains active, as such phenomena are extremely hard to predict. It is only after the structure is opened for viewing in spring that some conclusions can be drawn. USGS claims that a major eruption out of the Valentine Geyser could reach a height of 75 feet. “Each major eruption starts with water but quickly transitions to steam, and eruptions last from several to more than 20 minutes, often with a longer steam phase,” the organization shared.
In 1982, the Valentine Geyser was one of the most active in the National Park, but it slowly turned dormant. Researchers are unsure why Valentine Geyser erupted again after 20 years of silence. They are looking into insights from the latest eruptive period to understand the reason. Yellowstone National Park Geology Program has set up temperature trackers at the site, and many geologists are keen to look into data since mid-October 2025 to shed light on the geyser's eruptive patterns.
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