[Strategerist]

Yup. Forty thousand years overdue too.

The term "overdue" is horrifically mis-used in many cases, and in any event, it's not true of Yellowstone.

From the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory website:

Is it true that the next caldera-forming eruption of Yellowstone is overdue?

No. First of all, one cannot present recurrence intervals based on only two values. It would be statistically meaningless. But for those who insist... let's do the arithmetic. The three eruptions occurred 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 0.64 million years ago. The two intervals are thus 0.8 and 0.66 million years, averaging to a 0.73 million-year interval. Again, the last eruption was 0.64 million years ago, implying that we are still about 90,000 years away from the time when we might consider calling Yellowstone overdue for another caldera-forming eruption. Nevertheless, we cannot discount the possibility of another such eruption occurring some time in the future, given Yellowstone's volcanic history and the continued presence of magma beneath the Yellowstone caldera.

[Valin]

BUT! If it does explode, would you recommend hiding in the closet or under the bed?

[uglybiker]

...implying that we are still about 90,000 years away from the time when we might consider calling Yellowstone overdue for another caldera-forming eruption.

How dare you dash people's paranoia!

You're just a fun-hater.

[reagan_fanatic]

Again, the last eruption was 0.64 million years ago, implying that we are still about 90,000 years away from the time when we might consider calling Yellowstone overdue for another caldera-forming eruption

Whew. I guess my vacation to Yellowstone Park is back on again.

[SauronOfMordor]

Nevertheless, we cannot discount the possibility of another such eruption occurring some time in the future, given Yellowstone's volcanic history and the continued presence of magma beneath the Yellowstone caldera.

It might be interesting to see if we could figure out a way to release the thermal energy in a controlled and useful manner. It might even make us energy-independent from the Saudis