There isn't a definitive list of exactly seven supervolcanoes, as "supervolcano" isn't a strict scientific term, but major ones include Yellowstone Caldera (USA), Lake Toba (Indonesia), Lake Taupō (New Zealand), Phlegraean Fields (Italy), Aira Caldera (Japan), Baekdu Mountain (North Korea/China border), and Long Valley Caldera (USA), with others like Kurile Lake (Russia) and Cerro Galán (Argentina) also noted for massive past eruptions.
What is a supervolcano? While the exact number isn't certain, there's thought to be around 20 supervolcanoes on Earth. However, 'supervolcano' isn't a scientific term. It was first used in the 1940s and since the 2000s has gained popularity.
A Yellowstone super-eruption would unleash devastating pyroclastic flows near the park, blanketing much of the U.S. in thick ash, crippling infrastructure, destroying crops, and contaminating water, while sulfur dioxide creates a global "volcanic winter," blocking sunlight and causing widespread cooling and famine for years, leading to catastrophic global impacts. The chances of such an eruption are extremely small in the near future, but the effects would be globally catastrophic, altering climate and agriculture for years, say USGS scientists.
The most recent period of dormancy has already lasted 70,000 years and may continue for thousands of additional years. “Yellowstone will reawaken someday to host more eruptions. But volcanoes like Yellowstone don't erupt without warning. We'd expect months of intense activity prior to any future eruption.”
The most recent supervolcanic eruption on Earth occurred 27,000 years ago at Taupo located at the center of New Zealand's north island.
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. Most volcanic systems that have a supereruption do not have them multiple times.
Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is the largest active volcano on the planet. Meaning "long mountain" in Hawaiian, it is the quintessential shield volcano in its shape— signified by broad, rounded slopes.
Ask medieval historian Michael McCormick which year was the worst to be alive, and he's got an answer: "536." In that year, a mysterious fog plunged Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Asia into darkness, day and night—for 18 months.
1. Mount Vesuvius, Italy. Located near Naples and close to densely populated areas, Mount Vesuvius is infamous for the catastrophic eruption that buried Pompeii in 79 C.E. Today, millions live within its immediate area. With explosive eruptions and deadly pyroclastic flows, Vesuvius remains a top threat.
When Humans Nearly Vanished: The Catastrophic Explosion of the Toba Volcano.
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.
“Volcanic activity has been shown to affect Earth's climate in a myriad of ways,” the authors write. “One such example is that eruptions proximate to surface ice will promote ice melting.
The question about supervolcanoes, it turns out, isn't whether one could destroy all life on Earth. It's when will it do it again. That's right, folks. Around 200 million years ago, a supervolcano erupted with such insistent energy that 75 percent of the species on the planet were eradicated.
Yes. Encounters between aircraft and clouds of volcanic ash are a serious concern. Jet engines and other aircraft components are vulnerable to damage by fine, abrasive volcanic ash, which can drift in dangerous concentrations hundreds of miles downwind from an erupting volcano.
Hawaii's volcanoes, in contrast, begin on the deep ocean floor — about 19,700 feet (6,000 meters) below the surface of the Pacific. From that submerged foundation, Mauna Kea rises more than 33,500 feet (10,210 meters) from base to summit, making it taller than Mount Everest by nearly a full mile.
Eruptive products and the forces that produce them shape the landscape, sometimes removing land and sometimes adding to it. For example in 1973, in Iceland, the volcano of Eldfell on the island of Heimaey erupted.
Those parts of the surrounding states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming that are closest to Yellowstone would be affected by pyroclastic flows, while other places in the United States would be impacted by falling ash (the amount of ash would decrease with distance from the eruption site).
When will Yellowstone erupt again? We do not know. Future volcanic eruptions could occur within or near Yellowstone National Park for the simple reason that the area has a long volcanic history and because there is hot and molten rock, or magma, beneath the caldera now.
Can we survive a Yellowstone eruption? A massive eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano would spread deadly ash for thousands of miles, killing plant life and affecting humans in its path. Humans who were in its path would surely die, but it would not mean the extinction of the entire human race.
In southern Italy, deep beneath the picturesque landscape of Campi Flegrei, something ancient and terrifying is stirring. Once the site of a cataclysmic eruption 39,000 years ago and more recently active in 1538 this supervolcano is now showing signs of reawakening.
A volcanic tsunami, also called a volcanogenic tsunami, is a tsunami produced by volcanic phenomena. About 20–25% of all fatalities at volcanoes during the last 250 years have been caused by volcanic tsunamis. The most devastating volcanic tsunami in recorded history was that produced by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa.
The model shows that the fallout from a Yellowstone super-eruption could affect three quarters of the US. The greatest danger would be within 1,000 km of the blast where 90 per cent of people could be killed.