Yellowstone Caldera

USA / Montana / Gardiner /
 volcano, caldera, draw only border
Formed in a massive super-eruption 640,000 years ago. As much as over 1,000 cubic km (240 cu. mi.) of magma was erupted in the form of ash and enormous pyroclastic flows (The Lava Creek Tuff). The caldera is - 72 x 55 km (45 x 34 miles) in diameter. The caldera overlies the Yellowstone Hotspot, which is a mantle plume and is responsible for what is probably Earth's largest concentration of hot springs and geysers that Yellowstone National Park is so famous for.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Caldera
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   44°30'28"N   110°36'5"W

Comments

  • If this thing has another super-eruption we are all toast! Discovery Channel did a nice piece on the Yellowstone super volcano.
  • When this inevitably blows at some unknown time in the future we are frozen in an ice age.
This article was last modified 13 years ago