What Would An Eruption Of The Yellowstone Supervolcano Look Like?
By Michael Snyder, on March 31st, 2014
On Sunday, the worst earthquake in about 30 years rattled the Yellowstone supervolcano. Overall, there have been at least 25 significant earthquakes at Yellowstone National Park since Thursday, but it is the 4.8 earthquake that has many observers extremely worried.
Could such a large earthquake be a sign that the Yellowstone supervolcano is starting to roar to life after all this time? And if it does erupt, what would that mean for the rest of the country? As you will see below, a full-blown eruption at Yellowstone would be absolutely catastrophic. It is estimated that such an eruption could dump a 10 foot deep layer of volcanic ash up to 1,000 miles away and render much of the nation uninhabitable for years to come. In essence, it would instantly bring the United States to its knees.
It is true that it is normal for Yellowstone to experience up to 3,000 earthquakes a year. But most of those earthquakes are extremely small and nothing to worry about.
But the 4.8 earthquake that struck on Sunday is definitely raising eyebrows – especially considering what else has been going on at Yellowstone lately.
For example, the scientists that monitor Yellowstone are telling us that the area where the earthquake was centered has been experiencing “ground uplift” in recent months…
A University of Utah release said that the quake area had experienced a “ground uplift” since August and that “seismicity in the general region of the uplift has been elevated for several months.”
I don’t know about you, but the fact that the largest volcano in the U.S. by far has been experiencing “ground uplift” is not very comforting to me.
And there have been reports of strange animal behavior around Yellowstone as well. For example, the following YouTube video of numerous bison literally running away from Yellowstone has gone viral…
That video was captured during the month of March well before the 4.8 earthquake happened.
Could it be possible that those bison sensed that something was coming?
The danger posed by Yellowstone should not be underestimated.
This is something that I have written about before, but since then scientists have discovered that the Yellowstone supervolcano is actually two and a half times larger than they previously believed it to be…
Late last year a new study into the enormous super volcano found the underground magma chamber to be 2.5 times larger than previously thought — a cavern spanning some 90km by 30km and capable of holding 300 billion cubic kilometres of molten rock.
If the sleeping giant were to wake, the outflow of lava, ash and smoke would devastate the United States and affect the entire world.
A full-blown eruption at Yellowstone would be unlike anything that any of us have ever seen before. The following YouTube video attempts to portray what would happen to areas within a few hundred miles of Yellowstone…
Scenario: supervolcano eruption in the US
But of course the devastation would not just be limited to the northwest part of the country. The following are some more facts about Yellowstone that I compiled for a previous article…
#1 A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone could be up to 1,000 time more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
#2 A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone would spew volcanic ash 25 miles up into the air.
#3 The next eruption of Yellowstone seems to be getting closer with each passing year. Since 2004, some areas of Yellowstone National Park have risen by as much as 10 inches.
#4 There are approximately 3,000 earthquakes in the Yellowstone area every single year.
#5 In the event of a full-scale eruption of Yellowstone, virtually the entire northwest United States will be completely destroyed.
#6 A massive eruption of Yellowstone would mean that just about everything within a 100 mile radius of Yellowstone would be immediately killed.
#7 A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone could also potentially dump a layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away.
#8 A full-scale eruption of Yellowstone would cover virtually the entire midwest United States with volcanic ash. Food production in America would be almost totally wiped out.
#9 The “volcanic winter” that a massive Yellowstone eruption would cause would radically cool the planet. Some scientists believe that global temperatures would decline by up to 20 degrees.
#10 America would never be the same again after a massive Yellowstone eruption. Some scientists believe that a full eruption by Yellowstone would render two-thirds of the United States completely uninhabitable.
#11 Scientists tell us that it is not a matter of “if” Yellowstone will erupt but rather “when” the next inevitable eruption will take place.
In essence, a Yellowstone eruption would be on the same level as a Carrington event. Either one would fundamentally change life in the United States in a single day.
Personally, I certainly hope that we do not see an eruption at Yellowstone any time soon. And actually, I am much more concerned about the possibility of an eruption at other volcanoes in the northwest such as Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier.
But if the ground keeps rising rapidly at Yellowstone and earthquakes like the one that struck on Sunday keep on happening, then it would be very foolish for us to ignore the warning signs.
And of course you shouldn’t expect the government to warn you about the potential threat of a Yellowstone eruption until the very last moment. Generally speaking, the government is much more concerned about “keeping people calm” than it is about telling us the truth.
We seem to have moved into a time of increased seismic activity all over North and South America. In such an environment, it would not be wise to say that an eruption at Yellowstone “can’t happen”.
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The truth is that an eruption at Yellowstone could happen at any moment. Let us just hope that we are all out of the way when it does.
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