This comes out to an average of about 725,000 years between eruptions. That being the case, there is still about 100,000 years to go, but this is based on the average of just two time intervals between the eruptions, which is meaningless.
If another large, caldera-forming eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide. Such a giant eruption would have regional effects such as falling ash and short-term (years to decades) changes to global climate.
The eruption could be expected to kill as many as 90,000 people immediately and spread a 10-foot (3-meter) layer of molten ash as far as 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) from the park. Rescuers probably would have a tough time getting in there.
A: For the most likely type of volcanic eruption in Yellowstone, everywhere would be safe except in the immediate vicinity of the advancing lava flow. In the highly improbable event of a large catastrophic eruption, the great the distance from the eruptive center, the safer it would be.
External threats from climate change, invasive species, mining outside the park, barriers to connectivity for bison and grizzly bears, and park finance pose the greatest risk to the values, integrity and Outstanding Universal Value of the park.
So attempts at cooling and depressurizing magma systems would have many unintended, negative consequences, including making an eruption more likely. A program of large-scale magma quenching will not be undertaken at Yellowstone or elsewhere in the foreseeable future. Learn more: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.
The remnants of a supervolcano found in the Gawler Ranges of South Australia drawfs the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest active supervolcano today on Earth. Gawler Ranges, comprising stoney hills to the north of Eyre Peninsula, were formed by the supervolcano nearly 1.6 billion years ago.
Yellowstone's famous caldera, which last went off more than 640,000 years ago, can lay claim as North America's most well-known supervolcano. But it isn't the continent's largest — a more ancient one found near the small southwestern Utah town of Enterprise, was about 30 times bigger.
Volcano Watch — Mauna Loa is still the largest ACTIVE volcano on Earth. Despite reports to the contrary, Mauna Loa is still the largest ACTIVE volcano on Earth.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also states that it is very unlikely that a nuclear blast could trigger an eruption of Yellowstone. The now-dormant volcano has been undisturbed by much greater releases of energy in the form of earthquakes.
There are about 20 known supervolcanoes on Earth - including Lake Toba in Indonesia, Lake Taupo in New Zealand, and the somewhat smaller Phlegraean Fields near Naples, Italy. Super-eruptions occur rarely - only once every 100,000 years on average.
The Yellowstone and Iceland's super volcanos all have the potential of a very, very large eruptions sometime in the coming millennia. These will probably affect temperature and climate to a greater degree. Even these are unlikely to be large enough to cause a significant glaciation.
The biggest supervolcano on Earth was discovered in 2013: the Tamu Massif, with a 4 km height and a 640 km width, a submarine shield volcano located in the Pacific Ocean, east of Japan.
Precursors to volcanic eruptions include strong earthquake swarms and rapid ground deformation and typically take place days to weeks before an actual eruption. Scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) closely monitor the Yellowstone region for such precursors.
Other "supervolcanoes" would likely include the large caldera volcanoes of Japan, Indonesia, and South America. The most recent supervolcanic eruption on Earth occurred 27,000 years ago at Taupo located at the center of New Zealand's north island.
Mount Everest is not an active volcano. It is not a volcano but a folded mountain formed at the point of contact between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Mount Everest is the highest point on earth and it is found in the Himalayas mountain range. It is still rising at a rate of approximately one centimeter a year.
No, Mount Fuji is not a supervolcano, which is simply a volcano that has erupted with an explosivity index of at least 8. An eruption of this size has not occurred in recorded history, likely last occurring in New Zealand about 26,000 years ago.
The Yellowstone Caldera in north-western Wyoming is one of the largest volcanoes in the world. In the past 2.1 million years, it has seen three catastrophic eruptions that blanketed North America in ash and a number of smaller eruptions where lava flowed within the caldera, most recently 70,000 years ago.
Heard Island and nearby McDonald Islands are located 4100 kilometres southwest of Perth, Western Australia, and about 1500 kilometres north of Antarctica. The islands are home to Australia's only active volcanoes.
The most recent eruptions were around 5000 years ago at Mount Schank and Mount Gambier. The area is considered dormant, which means it has the potential to erupt in the future. There are also active volcanoes located 4000 kilometres south west of Perth on the Australian territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands.
Chains of smaller volcanoes also can pop up away from the edges of tectonic plates if the plate slides over a hotspot. And in fact, Australia is home to three ancient volcano chains, created as the continent moved north-east over the top of the Pacific plate after splitting from Antarctica.
Instead Nasa have conceived a very different plan. They believe the most viable solution could be to drill up to 10km down into the supervolcano, and pump down water at high pressure. The circulating water would return at a temperature of around 350C (662F), thus slowly day by day extracting heat from the volcano.
Although they might occur infrequently, even on a geological timeline, supervolcanoes are by no means insignificant. Unlike isolated incidents of tragedy that affect different people groups around the world, one supervolcano could pose a threat to all life on Earth.
Lava's temperature can range between 1,300 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. For example, lava traveling through a Hawaiian volcano's tubes, or underground passageways, is about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the United States Geological Survey.