What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think about Yellowstone? Other than the hit television series from Taylor Sheridan? How about “Old Faithful,” the most famous geyser in our country? Or maybe Yogi Bear and the cartoon’s parody of the national park, Jellystone?
The last thing that you probably thing about is a volcano. Yet, the most dangerous and potentially destructive one in America is located in the park. Yes, Yellowstone National Park is sitting on top of a huge, I’m talking MASSIVE supervolcano.
One that could potentially destroy the entire U.S. This sucker’s magma hotspot beneath the park is 300 miles wide. It blew its top before, and now scientists are saying that if it ever happens again, you can kiss this country goodbye.
Scientists who keep watch over the Yellowstone area are growing more alarmed as some ares of the national park have been slowly, but surely rising. And now, only three months into 2025, we’re seeing a massive swarm of earthquakes.
Could this monstrosity be awakening, ready to spell doom for the citizens of the greatest nation on earth?
“Geologists tell us that a full-blown eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano could have up to 1,000 times the power of the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, such an eruption would have the potential to dump a suffocating layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep on almost the entire country, and approximately two-thirds of the U.S. would immediately become uninhabitable,” Michael Snyder of End of the American Dream writes.
This volcano is the largest in America and the others don’t even come close. A major eruption would flip the lives of every soul in this country upside down, topsy-turvy and every other expression you can think of.
Our superpower status would be gone, leaving us vulnerable to outside attack and invasion.
In the later part of January there was a 3.9 magnitude earthquake that was felt all throughout the park.
An earthquake near Yellowstone National Park shook parts of eastern Idaho and western Wyoming on Tuesday. At about 6 p.m., a magnitude-3.9 earthquake was recorded about 15 miles outside of Mammoth, Wyoming, which is about 82 miles northeast of Rexburg. It was the second earthquake in or near Idaho today. At about 6:25 a.m., a magnitude-3.0 earthquake shook the ground near Stanley. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquakes occurred at depths of 7 miles and 12 miles, respectively.
Two other serious quakes happened in the area in February.
February seismicity in Yellowstone was marked by two swarms.
A swarm of 18 earthquakes was located approximately 13 miles south-southwest of Mammoth, in Yellowstone National Park, during February 1–8. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 1.6 on February 3 at 1:24 AM MST. A swarm of 11 earthquakes took place approximately 5 miles south-southeast of West Thumb, in Yellowstone National Park, on February 11. The largest earthquake in the sequence was a magnitude 2.4 on February 11 at 1:44 AM MST.
Before you all begin freaking out, there’s no reason for anyone to be panicking at this point. Keeping a watchful eye? Sure. Panicking? Nope. It’s not at a level where an eruption is imminent, so relax, uncork a bit.
What would happen in the event of a full eruption of this super volcano?
#1 The magma “hotspot” underneath Yellowstone is approximately 300 miles wide.
#2 A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone could be up to 1,000 times more powerful than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
#3 According to Google AI, a full-blown eruption of Yellowstone could send volcanic ash “up to 30-50 miles high”.
#4 According to Wikipedia, the Yellowstone Caldera has been “rising as quickly as 150 millimetres (5.9 in) per year”.
#5 There are more than a thousand earthquakes in the Yellowstone area every single year.
#6 In the event of a full-blown eruption of Yellowstone, virtually the entire northwest United States will be completely destroyed.
#7 A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone would mean that just about everything within a 100 mile radius of Yellowstone would be immediately killed. A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone could potentially dump a layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away.
#9 A full-blown eruption of Yellowstone would cover virtually the entire Midwest with a very thick layer of volcanic ash. Food production in the U.S. would be almost totally wiped out for an extended period of time.
#10 The “volcanic winter” that a massive Yellowstone eruption would cause would radically cool the planet. Some scientists believe that global temperatures would decline by up to 20 degrees. This would result in a horrific global famine.
#11 America would never be the same again after a massive Yellowstone eruption. Some scientists believe that a full eruption by Yellowstone would render two-thirds of the United States completely uninhabitable.
#12 Scientists tell us that it is not a matter of “if” Yellowstone will erupt again but rather “when” the next inevitable eruption will take place.
With hundreds of cubic miles of ash, rock, and lava blasted skyward into the atmosphere, a huge portion of the northern hemisphere would be plunged into deep darkness for several days. Anything located within 100 miles of the park would no longer exist.
However, something even worse would be in store for the major cities that exist outside of the blast zone, such as Salt Lake City and Denver.
Hot ash, rock, and dust would come down upon those cities for weeks on end. Surviving in those places would be difficult. So difficult, in fact, that it’s estimated that 90 percent of the people who call those cities home — within 600 miles of Yellowstone — would perish.
“Experts tell us that such an eruption would dump a layer of volcanic ash that is at least 10 feet deep up to 1,000 miles away, and approximately two-thirds of the United States would suddenly become uninhabitable. The volcanic ash would severely contaminate most of our water supplies, and growing food in the middle of the country would become next to impossible,” the article continues.
The rest of the earth, particularly the northern hemisphere, would then experience a volcanic winter. There would be a lengthy period of global cooling where temps all around the planet would see a 20 degree drop. Crops would be devastated and famine would wipe out billions of lives.
Pray that this doesn’t happen any time soon.
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