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R Greg Vaughan
U.S. Geological Survey, SOUTHWEST REGION
Research Geologist
928-556-7006
928-556-7014
2255 North Gemini Drive
Flagstaff
AZ
86001
US
gvaughan@usgs.gov
20250501
ArcGIS Metadata
1.0
GS ScienceBase
U.S. Geological Survey
1-888-275-8747
Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
Denver
CO
80225
US
sciencebase@usgs.gov
None
Digital Data
https://doi.org/10.5066/P1457JVI
https://doi.org/10.5066/P1457JVI
File Geodatabase Feature Class
Map of Yellowstone’s Thermal Areas: Updated 2023-12-31
2024-05-15
R. Greg Vaughan
Jefferson D.G. Hungerford
Marc A. Hunter
vector digital data
*Citation: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, 2022, Volcano and earthquake monitoring plan for the Yellowstone Caldera system, 2022–2032: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022–5032, 23 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225032.
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, Yellowstone Center for Resources, as part of work for the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, has compiled a shapefile map of thermal areas and thermal water bodies in Yellowstone National Park. A thermal area is a continuous, or nearly continuous, geologic unit that contains one or more thermal features (e.g., hot springs, mud pots, or fumaroles); hydrothermally altered rocks and/or hydrothermal mineral deposits; heated ground and/or geothermal gas emissions; and is generally barren of vegetation or has stressed / dying vegetation. There are more than 10,000 thermal features in Yellowstone, most of which are clustered together into about 120 distinct thermal areas (e.g., Upper Geyser Basin, Crater Hills Thermal Area, or Roadside Springs). A thermal water body is a body of water, usually a lake, pond, or wetland area, that is thermally emissive because it receives heated water from a nearby thermal area, nearshore thermal springs, or from underwater vents.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN>The shapefile released here is based on a thermal area polygon shapefile that was initially provided by the Spatial Analysis Center at the Yellowstone Center for Resources in Yellowstone National Park. The thermal area polygons were initially based on field mapping (by R. Hutchinson and others, unpublished data, 1997) and digitizing boundaries over high-spatial-resolution (1 m/pixel) visible color orthophotos from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) acquired in 2006. Updates to this map are based on more recent field mapping and remote sensing data analysis, including nighttime thermal infrared data (e.g., ASTER and Landsat 8/9), high-spatial-resolution visible data from commercial satellites (e.g., WorldView-3), and NAIP imagery from 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022. The downloadable shapefile contains a map of these thermal areas and thermal water bodies with information (if available) about their chemistry and thermal activity. The names of the thermal areas are either derived from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) or are locally used names, as indicated in the attribute table.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN>Thermal area mapping in Yellowstone is a work in progress, partly because there are still remote areas that have not yet been explored in detail, and partly because changes occur frequently. Thermal areas expand and contract, develop and decay, and migrate – over time scales that range from weeks to years. Thus, this map will be periodically assessed and updated.</SPAN></P><P><SPAN>A note about safety: Thermal areas can be dangerous, with scalding water, mud, or gases that are sometimes hidden beneath unstable ground. Unstable ground sometimes looks solid, but stepping onto unstable ground can result in breaking through a thin crust and being exposed to scalding water, mud, or gases, which can cause severe burns. Since the establishment of the National Park, more than 20 people have died from burns suffered after they entered or fell into a hot spring. For the safety of park visitors and the protection of delicate thermal formations, it is prohibited to enter a thermal area in the back country, and one must stay on the trails or boardwalks when entering front country thermal areas (unless working in a thermal area on an official permit).</SPAN></P><P><SPAN>Data were downloaded and compiled by the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS) in April, 2025 for display on the interactive Geology of Yellowstone Map. The WSGS has not formally reviewed or quality-controlled these data; users are encouraged to consult the original data source.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Yellowstone National Park's thermal areas are the surface expression of the deeper magmatic system, and they are dynamic in time and space: they heat up, they cool down, and they can migrate. Such changes are part of the normal life cycle of thermal areas in Yellowstone. The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory is tasked with (1) researching volcanic and geothermal processes to better understand and improve hazard assessments in the Yellowstone region, and (2) monitoring activity associated with the Yellowstone volcanic / geothermal system to provide timely warnings and interpretations for emergency managers and the public in the case of volcanic or seismic unrest (YVO, 2022*). This Data Release represents one aspect of this monitoring that is focused on mapping and monitoring changes in Yellowstone’s thermal areas. Thermal area monitoring is also important for supporting decisions regarding Yellowstone National Park’s infrastructure development, resource protection, and visitor safety. *Citation: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, 2022, Volcano and earthquake monitoring plan for the Yellowstone Caldera system, 2022–2032: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022–5032, 23 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225032.
Spatial Analysis Center at the Yellowstone Center for Resources in Yellowstone National Park.
Commercial satellite data are available to Federal Government employees under the NextView Imagery End User License Agreement.
Vaughan, R.G., Hungerford, J.D.G., and Hunter, M.A., 2024, Map of Yellowstone’s Thermal Areas: Updated 2023-12-31: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1457JVI.
R Greg Vaughan
U.S. Geological Survey, SOUTHWEST REGION
Research Geologist
928-556-7006
928-556-7014
2255 North Gemini Drive
Flagstaff
AZ
86001
US
gvaughan@usgs.gov
Common geographic areas
Yellowstone National Park
ISO 19115 Topic Category
geoscientificInformation
thermal areas
Alexandria Digital Library Feature Type Thesaurus
thermal features
USGS Thesaurus
thermal imaging
USGS Metadata Identifier
USGS:661d5eb7d34e7eb9eb7e3a41
geoscientificInformation
thermal areas
thermal features
thermal imaging
USGS:661d5eb7d34e7eb9eb7e3a41
Yellowstone National Park
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Left;"><DIV><DIV><P><SPAN>None. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations.</SPAN></P></DIV></DIV></DIV>
Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
None. Please see 'Distribution Info' for details.
ArcGIS Pro 3.2.1, Thermal_Areas_2023_12a.shp is 1.5 MB
true
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observed
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2023-12-31
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All attributes were verified through visual review and are believed to be accurate
All attributes were verified through visual review and are believed to be logically consistent.
Thermal area mapping in Yellowstone is a work in progress, partly because there are still remote areas that have not yet been explored in detail, and partly because changes occur frequently. Thermal areas expand and contract, develop and decay, and migrate – over time scales that range from weeks to years. Thus, this map will be periodically assessed and updated.
The thermal area polygons were initially based on field mapping (by R. Hutchinson and others, unpublished data, 1997) and digitizing boundaries over high-spatial-resolution (1 m/pixel) visible color orthophotos from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) acquired in 2006. Updates to this map are based on more recent field mapping and remote sensing data analysis, including nighttime thermal infrared data (e.g., ASTER and Landsat 8/9), high-spatial-resolution visible data from commercial satellites (e.g., WorldView-3), and NAIP imagery from 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022.
2024-12-31
118
Thermal_Areas_2023_12.shp Attribute Table
Table containing attribute information associated with the data set.
Producer Defined
Feature Class
118
OBJECTID
OBJECTID
OID
4
0
0
Internal feature number.
Esri
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Shape
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Shape type.
Shape
Geometry
0
0
0
Area
Surface area of thermal area, or sum of surface areas of isolated polygons that make up a thermal area, measured in square meters.
Producer Defined
339.532909252
15600863.9474
AREA
Double
8
0
0
Perimeter
Perimeter of thermal area, or sum of perimeters of isolated polygons that make up a thermal area, measured in meters.
Producer Defined
94.042299247
83645.2486261
PERIMETER
Double
8
0
0
Name
Thermal Area Name. This attribute refers to the name of the thermal area. See N SOURCE attribute for information on the source of the name.
Producer Defined
Thermal Area Name. This attribute refers to the name of the thermal area. See N SOURCE attribute for information on the source of the name.
NAME
String
50
0
0
Chem_Type
Chem_Type
String
50
0
0
Th_Active
Th_Active
String
50
0
0
TIG_pts
TIG_pts
String
50
0
0
Source
Source
String
10
0
0
Shape_Length
Shape_Length
Double
8
0
0
Length of feature in internal units.
Esri
Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.
Shape_Area
Shape_Area
Double
8
0
0
Area of feature in internal units squared.
Esri
Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.
Data_source
Data_source
String
200
0
0
dataset
EPSG
6.18.3(9.3.1.2)
Simple
FALSE
118
TRUE
FALSE