Table of Contents
- 1 What is the probability of eruption of Yellowstone in the near future?
- 2 How does the eruption size of the Yellowstone caldera eruptions compare to that of Mt St Helens?
- 3 What would be destroyed if Yellowstone erupts?
- 4 How did the size of the Mt Pinatubo eruption compare to the Mt St Helens eruption?
- 5 What are the similarities between the eruption at Mount Pinatubo and Mount St Helens?
What is the probability of eruption of Yellowstone in the near future?
0.00014\%
Given Yellowstone’s past history, the yearly probability of another caldera-forming eruption can be approximated as 1 in 730,000 or 0.00014\%.
How does the eruption size of the Yellowstone caldera eruptions compare to that of Mt St Helens?
The three caldera-forming eruptions at Yellowstone (2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago, and 640,000 years ago), were respectively about 2,500, 700, and 1,000 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in the state of Washington.
What would happen if Yellowstone had a major eruption?
If the supervolcano underneath Yellowstone National Park ever had another massive eruption, it could spew ash for thousands of miles across the United States, damaging buildings, smothering crops, and shutting down power plants. It’d be a huge disaster.
What would be destroyed if Yellowstone erupts?
The enormous amount of volcanic material in the atmosphere would subsequently rain down toxic ash; across the entire US, but principally in the Northwest. The ash would also kill plants, animals, crush buildings with its weight, block freeways, and ruin the country’s farmland for a generation.
How did the size of the Mt Pinatubo eruption compare to the Mt St Helens eruption?
Mount Pinatubo eruption was about ten times larger than Mount St. Helens. Both volcano eruptions experienced a similar pattern. Both volcanoes had earthquakes before the actual eruption.
What would happen if the largest volcano erupted?
Such a giant eruption would have regional effects such as falling ash and short-term (years to decades) changes to global climate. Such eruptions usually form calderas, broad volcanic depressions created as the ground surface collapses as a result of withdrawal of partially molten rock (magma) below.