Menu
Yellowstone National Park is a geologic wonderland. The park is located on the Yellowstone Caldera, one of the largest supervolcanoes on Earth. The caldera is the result of a massive eruption that occurred 640,000 years ago. The eruption created a huge depression in the Earth's surface, and the magma and ash that were blasted into the air settled over the area, creating a layer of rock and ash more than 10 feet thick.
The most recent eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano occurred 2.1 million years ago, and it was about 1,000 times larger than the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. The blast threw ash and rocks as far as 300 miles from the volcano, and created a crater more than 25 miles wide. If another such eruption occurred today, it would be catastrophic, burying much of the United States in ash and causing widespread destruction.
But don't worry - geologists believe that another massive eruption is not likely to occur for at least another few thousand years. In the meantime, Yellowstone National Park is a great place to visit, with its spectacular geysers and bubbling mud pots.
