Illustration by Hernan Canellas, National Geographic
Click here to see original article.
Written By:
Richard A. Lovett
National Geographic
Published September 20, 2012
Yellowstone National Park is located in the state of Wyoming and extends into Montana and Idaho. Although it is known for it's beauty and natural serenity,it's past provides vivid evidence of total destruction which geologists say may come upon the land someday. Known as a "supervolcano", the Yellowstone region has spewed over 240 cubic miles of ash and lava in one instance, most recently occurring 640,000 years ago. The next major eruption is predicted to be centered in one of the three parallel fault zones northwest of the park, two of which had produced large lava flows during the latest moment of activity (144,000 to 70,000 y.a.) with the third having frequent tremors not so long ago. Many eruptions occur frequently, although small in comparison, in the form of lava flows with very high viscosity and very slow movement.
Guillaurne Girard, a visiting professor at Michigan State University, feels that the supervolcano's next major explosion is not an "imminent hazard" and states, "Every study has concluded that there is no magma that is ready to erupt within any foreseeable future." However, Ben Ellis, a volcanologist at the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, notes that eruptive patterns can also change unexpectedly.
With the 2012 phenomenon still mingling as the date of December 21 draws near, I decided to share an article within the same context, but with a more realistic and believable approach. The world may not end from spiritualistic predictions, but may be greatly altered due to natural disasters, worldwide fires, worldwide floods, recurring ice ages, etc. Human activity plays a large role in deciding the next direction the planet takes, but what it all comes down to is the degree in which evidence is exact and convincing.
- Andrew
Yellowstone National Park is located in the state of Wyoming and extends into Montana and Idaho. Although it is known for it's beauty and natural serenity,it's past provides vivid evidence of total destruction which geologists say may come upon the land someday. Known as a "supervolcano", the Yellowstone region has spewed over 240 cubic miles of ash and lava in one instance, most recently occurring 640,000 years ago. The next major eruption is predicted to be centered in one of the three parallel fault zones northwest of the park, two of which had produced large lava flows during the latest moment of activity (144,000 to 70,000 y.a.) with the third having frequent tremors not so long ago. Many eruptions occur frequently, although small in comparison, in the form of lava flows with very high viscosity and very slow movement.
Guillaurne Girard, a visiting professor at Michigan State University, feels that the supervolcano's next major explosion is not an "imminent hazard" and states, "Every study has concluded that there is no magma that is ready to erupt within any foreseeable future." However, Ben Ellis, a volcanologist at the Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland, notes that eruptive patterns can also change unexpectedly.
With the 2012 phenomenon still mingling as the date of December 21 draws near, I decided to share an article within the same context, but with a more realistic and believable approach. The world may not end from spiritualistic predictions, but may be greatly altered due to natural disasters, worldwide fires, worldwide floods, recurring ice ages, etc. Human activity plays a large role in deciding the next direction the planet takes, but what it all comes down to is the degree in which evidence is exact and convincing.
- Andrew
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