The U.S. Geological Service is adamantly denying rumors that a recent "swarm" of earthquakes in Yellowstone National Park have prompted an evacuation order for the greater Yellowstone area.

"The USGS is not recommending the evacuation of the park," according to a statement from Jessica Robertson at the USGS office in Arlington, Va.

Furthermore, she wrote, "The USGS is not affiliated with a Web site that recommends evacuation of Yellowstone National Park and bears the USGS logo."

That site, www.earthmountainview.com, proclaims in capital letters: "Yellowstone supervolcano getting ready to blow its cork." The information at the top of site is dated Jan. 5, 2009, and includes a posting from a geologist warning people to evacuate the area.

The quote, attributed to a geologist named Christopher C. Sanders states: "I am advising all state officials around Yellowstone National Park for a potential State of Emergency. In the last week over 252 earthquakes have been observed by the USGS. We have a 3D view on the movement of magma rising underground. We have all of the pre warning signs of a major eruption from a super volcano. I want everyone to leave Yellowstone National Park and for 200 miles around the volcano caldera."

But USGS scientists say any warnings would come through the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

And no such warnings have been issued.

"If an evacuation order were necessary, it would be handled through Yellowstone National Park and neighboring communities," Jake Lowenstern, scientist in charge of the observatory, said.

The rumors appear to stem from the more than 500 seismic events that started under Yellowstone Lake in late December.

While scientists considered the swarm "notable," it has "stopped for now and may have ceased entirely," according to a separate statement from Lowenstern. "Similar large earthquake swarms have occurred in the past at Yellowstone without triggering steam explosions or volcanic activity."

Meanwhile, USGS officials are "working through the appropriate legal channels" to have both the warning and the agency's logo removed from the Web site, according to Robertson's statement.

The volcano observatory in the park is a cooperative project of USGS, the park and the University of Utah. Its Web site is www.volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo.

Karin Ronnow is at kronnow@dailychronicle.com or 582-2659.

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