Yellowstone (super volcano)

• Yellowstone Wyoming in Spring 2003 strange things began happening in America's most famous National Park
• The tallest Geyser in the world which can go 50 years without erupting burst into life spraying Columns of superheated water hundreds of feet into the air
• There were new cracks in the ground and the ground heated up to the point where the National Park Service had to close some Trails
• A group of Bison collapsed and died victims of poisonous fumes from below the ground
• Satellite pictures revealed that something ominous was happening beneath the Earth
• Unfounded rumors spread that a super volcano an eruption so large that it only occurs on average every 700,000 years was about to blow
• The last Super volcanic eruption occurred 74,000 years ago
• Super volcano


  Generates the biggest explosive eruptions that we've ever seen
• A single super volcano explosion is a million times bigger than Hiroshima
• Regular volcanoes eject millions of cubic feet of Ash and debris, super volcanoes eject billions
• Regular volcanoes can throw Ash over an entire State, the ash from a super volcano could blanket half the United States
• Over 20 super volcanoes have been recorded in the history of the earth and over half of these happened in North America
• Many scientists now believe that an active super volcano exists under Yellowstone National Park
• Yellowstone National Park is 3,400 squ miles of protected wilderness situated mostly in Northwest Wyoming
• Yellowstone is best known for its hydrothermal features like Hot Springs and geysers which indicate a great amount of heat pouring out from the interior of the earth to its surface
• The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake triggered a giant Landslide and killed 28 campers
• Primary Impacts of a Massive Eruption

  • Significant ash fallout affecting large areas of the United States
  • Ash could bury buildings, contaminate water supplies, and disrupt agriculture
  • Release of volcanic gases like sulfur dioxide could lead to global cooling (a "volcanic winter"), affecting global agricultural systems and leading to food shortages
  • Immediate health concerns would include respiratory issues from ash inhalation and potential toxicity from gases
• Secondary Impacts of a Massive Eruption

  • Economic consequences would be profound, including long-lasting effects on the U.S. economy, with potential global repercussions
  • Transportation (both local and national) would likely be disrupted due to ash coverage and damage to roads and airports
  • Significant changes to ecosystems could occur, with some areas potentially becoming uninhabitable for extended periods
• Yellowstone averages over 25 earthquakes a week, the most seismically active area of the United States outside California
• Geologists found a thick layer of Ash and debris covering the Bedrock in Yellowstone, indicating a large volcanic eruption
• Short-Term Responses to a Massive Eruption

  1. Prompt evacuation from the most dangerous areas and providing adequate shelter and resources for potentially millions of displaced people

  2. Massive deployment of emergency services to manage immediate health crises, fires, and general public safety concerns

  3. Clear and continuous communication from government and scientific organizations to provide updates, manage public panic, and coordinate response efforts
• The volume of material erupted was about 250 cubic miles, enough to bury the whole of Texas under 5 ft of Ash
• Long-Term Responses to a Massive Eruption


  1. Cleaning up ash, rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, and rehabilitating affected ecosystems

  2. Significant financial resources would be required to support recovery and stimulate economic activities that could be stalled or destroyed by the eruption

  3. Policies aimed at better prediction and management of volcanic activity would need to be developed, alongside enhanced scientific monitoring and research focused on understanding and mitigating the impacts of supervolcanic eruptions
• Geologists found a giant Caldera, a crater so large that it was impossible to see it all even from the air
• The magma chamber under Yellowstone was at least 50 Mi long by about 25 M across
• The eruption that created the Yellowstone Caldera was 1,000 times bigger than the Mount St Helen's blast
• Yellowstone has had at least three giant super volcanic eruptions
• Surveys showed the center of the Calera had risen over 2 ft between 1923 and 1977, and then fell between 1995 and 2000
• Native American arrowheads show their settlements moved back and forth six times over the last 15,000 years as the edge of the lake Rose and fell
• A super volcano eruption could throw debris 15 Mi high, trigger monster avalanches, and generally wreak havoc
• The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia was a level 6 on the volcanic explosivity index, a super eruption is at least a level 8 which is 10 times bigger
• The Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb was 160 times smaller than a super volcano eruption
• The Soviet 50 Megaton bomb was still 50 times smaller than a super volcano eruption
• Warning signs of a Yellowstone super eruption would include the ground rising 10 ft or more, swarms of earthquakes, and harmonic tremor
• Pyroclastic flows from a super eruption would rush out at hurricane velocities, destroying everything in their path
• Within a 60m radius of a Yellowstone super eruption, 90% of any remaining people would be killed
• The ash cloud from a Yellowstone super eruption could blanket half the United States
• The city center is buried in Ash, a modern-day Pompei
• If this had been a super volcano, we'd be looking at no life whatsoever
• Within an hour of a Yellowstone super eruption

  1. Pyroclastic flows could Race Across the countryside and engulf the valley of Jackson Hall and the town of Livingston

  2. 90% of any remaining people would be killed

  3. Most would suffocate in the heat of pyroplastic flows