Super Volcano in Yellowstone

[Richard]

Yesterday I was channel flipping and came across a show on Natural Geographic I think...

Anyway, the upshot of the show is that pretty much the entire yellowstone national park is sitting on top of a super volcano that is otherwise, considered overdue.

It was a most fascenating show. Evidently, the caldera (depression made by volcano underneith) is soooooooooooo big, you cant see it on foot and if I recall the show properly, you can't see it from the air either. Seems some geologist who has been studying Yellowstone for 90% of his life, noticed some trees that were nearer the water. Upshot was, the entire "X" number of square miles had risen like 15' and like water moving to opposite side of a raised plate, the lake water moved towards the tree. It wasn't the trees that movved, it was the entire countryside that shifted up. They measured this against the surveys done when they built some of the roads back in the 40's I think (perhaps 30's) and found that since then, the countryside had risen like 15'.

It was just an incredibly interesting show. Of course, they had the "what if's" to keep it a bit on the sensational side, but then, if "what if" comes to be, it just MIGHT BE sensational /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif


I posted a Single link I found while doing a Google search. do a Google search on super volcano yellowstone and you'll find others.

Very interesting

 

[Richard]

an exerpt:

Where are there other super volcanoes?
Not all super volcanoes have been found, but one of the largest is in Yellowstone Park, USA. Scientists searching for the caldera in the park could not see it because it was so huge - only when satellite images were taken did the scale of the caldera become apparent - the whole park, 85km by 45km, is one massive reservoir of magma. The idyll landscape of Yellowstone (below) could soon explode with devastating consequences.

 

[Bird]

Richard, I've either seen the same thing, or something similar. It does make you wonder if it'll ever blow and if it does, how bad it'll be. Of course I also watched a TV program in 1972 that was done by the BBC called "City Waiting to Die" if I remember right, in which they said the prior earthquakes in San Francisco were nothing compared to the one that's gonna happen in the future. The producers thought San Francisco would be almost totally wiped out.

 

[DaveNay]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Richard, I've either seen the same thing, or something similar. It does make you wonder if it'll ever blow and if it does, how bad it'll be. Of course I also watched a TV program in 1972 that was done by the BBC called "City Waiting to Die" if I remember right, in which they said the prior earthquakes in San Francisco were nothing compared to the one that's gonna happen in the future. The producers thought San Francisco would be almost totally wiped out. )</font>

They haven't been proved wrong yet. "In the future" is a looooooonngggg time to wait. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Dave

 

[texbaylea]

With the advent of satellites for surveying the earth, they have done some adjustments to the geoid (the nominal surface of the earth) with corrections for altitude and latitude and longitude. Does that 15' include these adjustments? I always suspect references back to the 40's and 50's, even the 60's for measurements such as this.

Vernon

 

[aardvark]

A re-run of that show is on the Discovery Channel right now, 9:40 pm Sunday night. Very interesting.

 

[EastTexFrank]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> the whole park, 85km by 45km, is one massive reservoir of magma. The idyll landscape of Yellowstone (below) could soon explode with devastating consequences. </font> )</font>

What do you think that will do to land prices? /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[SPIKER]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
What do you think that will do to land prices? /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif )</font>

it should blow them SKY HIGH! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

I saw that program back about 6 months I htink on tdc too. VERY INTEESTING. also has anyone heard much new form MT ST. Helens?

MarkM
/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[YanmarFever]

<font color="blue"> </font> also has anyone heard much new form MT ST. Helens?


They are at a wait & see with Helen
If she blows this time they say there wont be anything left but a big (ashhole) left !! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[turnkey4099]

I saw that one back when an watched it again the othe night. I was rather surprised at what wasn't mentioned. The hot spot under yellowstone is much similar to the one currently under Hawaii, i.e., it moves along. Each of the Hawaiian islands was formed over that hotspot and the yellowstone one has braveled clear across Southern Idaho, the snake river follows its ancient course.

Can't give a cite. That is from my omniverous reading of many of the popular scientific publications (Scientific American and the like).

Harry K