2006-09-12 06:36:50 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Anthropology
I don't know it personally, but I saw a program about it on the History Channel... quite scary if it ever happens!!!
Here's a good story about it from National Geographic...
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireyellowstone.html
2006-09-12 06:39:57 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The caldara under Yellowstone is one of the largest in the world, if not the largest. It's what powers the geysers, mud pots, hot springs, and other phenomena you'll see there. It's so big that it takes up most of Yellowstone Park itself. No one knows exactly what type of lava mix is in there, but the more molten lava there is, the more likely it will erupt. There are constantly small earthquakes in Yellowstone because of it, and some areas are actually bulging from it--one area near Yellowstone Lake has risen in height about one foot since scientists began measuring it. If it follows its current cycle, it is about due for another eruption, but "due" is a relative term--it could be as much as 300 years away, and that's assuming it sticks to the cycle of eruptions that we're aware of. Scientists don't think it will necessarily be the "big one," like the movies have been scaring everyone with, but instead a series of smaller eruptions. To give you an idea of the scale, it's said that up to 3 inches of ash will even fall where I live, in Indiana. The blast would kill most people within about a 100 mile radius, and few people would make it, even as far away as Denver. Some ash would make it as far away as England. It would be many times stronger than the volcano which erupted in Asia in the late 18th or early 19th century, which caused what was known as "the year without a summer," because the ash cloud changed weather patterns all over the world, and caused crops to fail throughout North America and Europe. It was one of the reasons for the French Revolution, because the French were starving as a result of failed crops. Before you go selling all you own and hunkering down in a bomb shelter, though, remember that this is an absolute worst case scenario, and probably will not happen in our lifetime.
2006-09-12 13:54:09 · answer #2 · answered by cross-stitch kelly 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I know OF the Yellowstone volcano. It's said to be real and when - not if - it goes boom the entire western US will be dramatically changed and lots of ppl are figured in to die. Reports I've seen about it claim it will cover the entire US food-belt with ash and block the Sun, eventually killing all plant life. Those not killed in the blast will slowly starve. Scientists say there is absolutely nothing anyone on this planet can do about it and they have no idea when it will go off.
Knowing that, it seems pretty clear to me that worrying about it makes no sense. If it don't happen in our lifetime then we worried for nothing, if it does, then we still probably worried for nothing b/c we'll just be goners.
2006-09-12 14:01:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep. If the Yellowstone caldera blows, it'd wipe out a great deal of the US.
"A full-scale eruption of the Yellowstone caldera could result in millions of deaths locally and catastrophic climatic effects globally..."
-Wikipedia
2006-09-12 13:46:00 · answer #4 · answered by gryphon254 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is what they call a Super Volcano. It would be devastating to the world if it errupts. They are so huge they are hard to distinguish and scientists do not know how many of these there are.
2006-09-12 13:47:32 · answer #5 · answered by j H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i believe what you are referring to is the caldera beneath Yellowstone.
2006-09-12 13:49:33 · answer #6 · answered by l l 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've got a plan to stop its eruption. Click on my profile (SPLATT) to read more.
2006-09-12 13:43:06 · answer #7 · answered by SPLATT 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋