We went there last August and were thinking about going again this August. This sure puts a damper on the enthusiasm I had about returning, lol. It probably won’t erupt during our lifetimes, but you never know.
“It would make two thirds of the United States uninhabitable.”
Just curious, is that considered an increase from current levels? :)
Spring is a great time to go, if you can tolerate the cold. Only about half the park roads were open, but there were few tourists. In the summer, the park gets quite crowded. We would literally drive into parking lots and look for other cars, reasoning that they would be parked near the interesting stuff.
I wouldn’t worry about an eruption. According to one of the park rangers, quite a bit of volcanic activity occurred prior to the last eruption, such as isolated lava flows. If such events should start happening, then it would be time to worry.
In addition, the next eruption won’t happen at the site of the current caldera, but at some point to the northeast. That is because a huge magma chamber, 400 miles deep, is under the tectonic plate which is sliding to the southwest. Given the size of previous eruptions, not only will anything at the site of the eruption be instantly destroyed, but about a third of the US will be destroyed by ash and poisonous gasses. An eruption would be so huge and catastrophic, but is also so unlikely in our lifetimes that it is not worth worrying about. The wild animals at Yellowstone are far more of an immediate danger to life and limb.
Do go see Yellowstone, it is definitely worth at least one visit in a lifetime.