The word volcano typically brings to mind a mountain with fire spewing forth from the summit. Therefore, a “supervolcano” would be a massive fire breathing mountain but, this is not the case. Most of Yellowstone National Park and some of the surrounding area is a “supervolcano”.While some of the largest volcanic eruptions have come from Yellowstone, it is not the only place these “mega-eruptions” have occurred There have been “mega-eruptions” in Indonesia, Chile, New Zealand, Argentina, Japan and elsewhere in the United States. “Supervolcanoes” are supermassive, deadly, and have left geological evidence of their destruction all over the world.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific entity of the federal government that specializes …show more content…
It is also home to the largest concentration of geysers in the world and one of the biggest hydrothermal systems. Geologists have found evidence of 6 older calderas southwest of Yellowstone that extend into Idaho. The formation of Yellowstone occurred over a more than 2 million year period, but is actually the youngest in the geological history of volcanic events in the area. This region of volcanic activity is the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and was formed by three volcanic cycles. Two of these were the largest known eruptions on Earth. After each “mega-eruption” there was a period where smaller eruptions of pyroclastic materials and rhyolite lavas continued to extrude into or around the newly formed caldera (USGS,52).The Lava Creek Tuff eruption is the youngest of the three volcanic cycles that formed the Yellowstone Plateau and one of the largest. Its eruption 640,000 years ago ejected 1,000km3 of material into the atmosphere, qualifying it as a “supervolcano”. The dimensions of the resulting caldera were 85 km by 45 km and 500 m tall at the northwest rim. Today the crater is known as the Yellowstone caldera. Prior to the Lava Creek Tuff eruption, the Mesa Falls Tuff eruption created the Henry’s Fork caldera about 1.3 million years ago. Mesa Falls was the smallest of the three volcanic events with only 280 km3 material ejected and a resulting caldera 16km in diameter. This eruption doesn’t qualify as a “supervolcano” by the USGS standards but was still a substantial “mega-eruption” when compared to historically “known” eruptions like Mount Pinatubo and Mount Saint Helens as Figure 1 shows. The first and largest “supervolcanic” eruption in Yellowstone was the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff eruption. 2.1 million years ago the eruption ejected 2,450 km3 of lava, pumice and ash into the atmosphere. The resulting caldera’s dimensions are approximated at 75 to 95 km by 40 to 60km
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific entity of the federal government that specializes …show more content…
It is also home to the largest concentration of geysers in the world and one of the biggest hydrothermal systems. Geologists have found evidence of 6 older calderas southwest of Yellowstone that extend into Idaho. The formation of Yellowstone occurred over a more than 2 million year period, but is actually the youngest in the geological history of volcanic events in the area. This region of volcanic activity is the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and was formed by three volcanic cycles. Two of these were the largest known eruptions on Earth. After each “mega-eruption” there was a period where smaller eruptions of pyroclastic materials and rhyolite lavas continued to extrude into or around the newly formed caldera (USGS,52).The Lava Creek Tuff eruption is the youngest of the three volcanic cycles that formed the Yellowstone Plateau and one of the largest. Its eruption 640,000 years ago ejected 1,000km3 of material into the atmosphere, qualifying it as a “supervolcano”. The dimensions of the resulting caldera were 85 km by 45 km and 500 m tall at the northwest rim. Today the crater is known as the Yellowstone caldera. Prior to the Lava Creek Tuff eruption, the Mesa Falls Tuff eruption created the Henry’s Fork caldera about 1.3 million years ago. Mesa Falls was the smallest of the three volcanic events with only 280 km3 material ejected and a resulting caldera 16km in diameter. This eruption doesn’t qualify as a “supervolcano” by the USGS standards but was still a substantial “mega-eruption” when compared to historically “known” eruptions like Mount Pinatubo and Mount Saint Helens as Figure 1 shows. The first and largest “supervolcanic” eruption in Yellowstone was the Huckleberry Ridge Tuff eruption. 2.1 million years ago the eruption ejected 2,450 km3 of lava, pumice and ash into the atmosphere. The resulting caldera’s dimensions are approximated at 75 to 95 km by 40 to 60km