Could The World's Oldest Volcano Wipe Out More Than 50% Of The US?
Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Recent research from scientists shows that the super volcano below Yellowstone National Park could make two-thirds of U.S. land uninhabitable, disrupting thousands of flights, and forcing millions to leave their homes.
The last time this super-volcano erupted was 600,000 years ago, and it's due to erupt relatively soon. The volcano has been rising since 2004, but the scientists can't call a full out warning because they do not have an exact date of when the eruption might occur.
The University of Utah's Bob Smith, who is an expert in Yellowstone's volcanism told National Geographic, "It's an extraordinary uplift, because it covers such a large area and the rates are so high."
Smith went on to say, "At the beginning we were concerned it could be leading up to an eruption. Once we saw the magma was at a depth of ten kilometres, we weren't so concerned. If it had been at depths of two or three kilometre we'd have been a lot more concerned."