[Valin]

I recall seeing a show on PBS a couple of years ago that said that there is a large hot spot that is slowly moving west into the Yellowstone basin. They also talked about the Cascades becoming more active.

[Mike Darancette]

I recall seeing a show on PBS a couple of years ago that said that there is a large hot spot that is slowly moving west into the Yellowstone basin.

The Yellowstone Caldera is already there. Hot spots remain stationary while the tectonic plates move over them.

The Yellowstone hot spot first appeared about 17 Million Years ago (MYA) at a point on the North American Plate which today corresponds to SE Oregon. The plate moves in a SW direction giving the hot spot the appearance of moving in a NE direction.

The trail of the North American Plate over the hot spot is a trail of destruction on a massive scale. The trail starts with massive Basaltic Lava flows indicating that the crust was rent with massive lava producing fissures. At intervals along the trail there are indications of multiple explosive volcanic events (calderas), of which Yellowstone is but the latest.

Enjoy Yellowstone Park, someday it will not be there.