This blog post is about the Yellowstone Volcano at Yellowstone national park and if it is a threat to America. Yellowstone is a volcano that is located close to the top of the United States of America and it has been dormant for a very long time. The last time the volcano erupted was in 1350 B.C. This eruption did not let out an actual explosion, though. The last actual explosion of the volcano was 174,000 years ago and the last time lava flowed from the volcano was 70,000 years ago. To answer the question if it would be devastating to humanity if it were to explode, yes, it would be. The explosion would cover up to 2/3 of America, the whole continent, in ten feet of ash. Yellowstone national park is located inside and around the caldera of Yellowstone. If you don't know, a caldera is a crater left over from a volcanic explosion, with Yellowstone's case being over a couple thousand years ago. Scientists have stations around Yellowstone national park that monitor the activity of the volcanoes. These scientists include seismologists, volcanologists, and more. They are all studying the crust and the mantle of the Earth and everything on top of it to get the most accurate amount of years it will be until the next eruption of the Yellowstone volcano. So far, it is expected to be longer than 1,000 to 10,000 years from now. There are also often 100-300 earthquakes, which show that there is still activity in the area under and around Yellowstone and that means that the volcano is still just dormant and will likely erupt once pressures get high enough and it will be devastating.
Here are my notes: Click here
Resources:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/volcanoqa.htm
http://www.idahostatejournal.com/members/doomsday-could-yellowstone-park-s-supervolcano-erupt-soon/article_4a20351e-f6ec-11e4-aefc-073e37e89022.html
http://www.ryot.org/supervolcano-yellowstone-volcano-will-it-erupt/765673
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