Most people have heard of Yellowstone National Park but not everyone knows how strange yet spectacular the caldera actually is. Yellowstone is a supervolcano and the park sits on top of a massive crater called a caldera. According to a NOVA documentary, the caldera is large enough to hold the city of LA and the magma chamber encompasses half of the park above it and extends almost 5 miles deep (Adah, 2016). This makes Yellowstone’s magma chamber the largest known on Earth. Since Yellowstone is a supervalcano, an eruption would have a magnitude of 8 on the Volcano Explosively Index. At this magnitude, Yellowstone would release over 250 cubic miles of magma (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-h). Scientists discovered that Yellowstone has had three super
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The park contains about 10,000 thermal features including 500 geysers and 8 major geyser basins (Utah National Parks, 2017). From below the surface, volcanic activity has a powerful effect on water. “Water percolates down into the caldera and is heated by volcanic activity. The heated water and steam develops great pressure, forcing it to the surface and producing the park's geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots” (Utah National Parks, 2017, para.4). The two most popular features are Old Faithful and the Norris Geyser Basin. Old Faithful is a powerful geyser that erupts frequently, making it a promising attraction for tourists. It erupts in intervals anywhere between 60 and 110 minutes, or 20 times per day (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-a). Scientists of Yellowstone Park attempt to estimate when Old Faithful will erupt next so that tourists can plan around the eruption intervals. The water can shoot out at heights up to 180 feet and erupt for up to 5 minutes, and eruption lasting 1.5 minutes could release 3,700 gallons of water (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-a). The Norris Geyser Basin is another major hot spot in the park. It is very a hot and unpredictable thermal basin, making it one of the most extreme environments on the planet (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-d). It is also home to life forms and minerals that give the water its variety of colors. High silica concentrations in the water give it a milky blue color, while poisonous iron oxides and arsenic compounds give the water red hues, and cyanobacteria add orange color (Utah National Parks,
The park contains about 10,000 thermal features including 500 geysers and 8 major geyser basins (Utah National Parks, 2017). From below the surface, volcanic activity has a powerful effect on water. “Water percolates down into the caldera and is heated by volcanic activity. The heated water and steam develops great pressure, forcing it to the surface and producing the park's geysers, hot springs, fumaroles and mud pots” (Utah National Parks, 2017, para.4). The two most popular features are Old Faithful and the Norris Geyser Basin. Old Faithful is a powerful geyser that erupts frequently, making it a promising attraction for tourists. It erupts in intervals anywhere between 60 and 110 minutes, or 20 times per day (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-a). Scientists of Yellowstone Park attempt to estimate when Old Faithful will erupt next so that tourists can plan around the eruption intervals. The water can shoot out at heights up to 180 feet and erupt for up to 5 minutes, and eruption lasting 1.5 minutes could release 3,700 gallons of water (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-a). The Norris Geyser Basin is another major hot spot in the park. It is very a hot and unpredictable thermal basin, making it one of the most extreme environments on the planet (Yellowstone Park, n.d.-d). It is also home to life forms and minerals that give the water its variety of colors. High silica concentrations in the water give it a milky blue color, while poisonous iron oxides and arsenic compounds give the water red hues, and cyanobacteria add orange color (Utah National Parks,