Hell On Earth: The Yellowstone Caldera
Most of you might not know that below the peaceful park of Yellowstone lies one of the largest volcanoes on the planet. It is a resurgent caldera. According to Roger Weller, professor
at Cochise College, this is a form of volcanism in which a collapsed crater is formed after the explosive eruption of a magma chamber that has uplifted the surface of the earth. The Yellowstone caldera is also known by a different name.
It is a name given to only a select few of volcanoes around the world. It is referred to as a super volcano.
Not if, but when this volcano erupts it will be a disaster of epic proportion. The blast
would be one million times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World
War II, and one thousand times worse than the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Surrounding areas of 60 miles would be completely obliterated. The entire western United States would be blanketed by ash and it could reach as far as Washington D.C. No one would be safe within one thousand miles of the eruption.
Next would come the pyroclastic flows (pyroclastic cloud) released from the eruption.
The pyroclastic flow is basically a high speed avalanche of hot ash, rock fragment, and gas that moves during explosive eruptions. The flow can reach up to fifteen-hundred degrees Fahrenheit and move at speeds ranging from one-hundred to one-hundred fifty miles per hour and is capable of knocking down and burning anything in its path. The flow from this particular eruption could reach as far as Las Vegas.
http://skywalker.cochise.edu/wellerr/students/yellowstone2/project.htm
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