How much volcanic activity has there been at Yellowstone since the most recent giant eruption?
Since the most recent giant (caldera-forming) eruption 631,000 years ago, approximately 80 relatively nonexplosive eruptions have occurred. Of these eruptions, at least 27 were rhyolite lava flows in the caldera, 13 were rhyolite lava flows outside the caldera, and 40 were basalt vents outside the caldera. The most recent volcanic eruption at Yellowstone, a lava flow on the Pitchstone Plateau, occurred 70,000 years ago.
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Inside USGS, No. 6, Ken Pierce, Heavy Breathing of Yellowstone Caldera
Dr. Kenneth Pierce studied the geology and geomorphology of the greater Yellowstone area for nearly his entire career with the U.S. Geological Survey. From 1965 to present, Dr. Pierce has mapped glacial deposits, pioneered Quaternary dating techniques, conducted research on the Yellowstone Hot Spot, studied the geothermal areas, explored the geology of archaeological sites
Inside USGS, No. 4, Robert B. Smith
Robert B. Smith of the University of Utah has been collaborating with USGS scientists on Yellowstone geologic topics since the 1960’s. In this interview Bob describes nuances of the Yellowstone volcano story. He shares details of his past and present work and explains how the University of Utah and USGS have a long history of working together on Yellowstone geology.
The Yellowstone Volcano: Past, Present and Future
Public Lecture on Yellowstone Volcano by Jake Lowenstern at Menlo Park, CA on January 23, 2014. The Q&A at the end of the talk can be found on the original source video (Source URL).
Caldera Demonstration Model
A caldera is a large, usually circular volcanic depression formed when magma is withdrawn or erupted from a shallow underground magma reservoir. It is often difficult to visualize how calderas form. This simple experiment using flour, a balloon, tubing, and a bicycle pump, provides a helpful visualization for caldera formation.
Active Lava Flow
Flows continue to be active south of the Kalapana access road, heading in a generally eastward direction. These breakouts were active just a few hundred meters east of the County lava viewing area.
Lava Flow Activity
Activity on the active flow field has been dominated by rootless lava shield construction for the past several weeks (Pu`u `Ō `ō). The main shield, seen here, is topped by a lava pond that feeds overflows down the sides of the shield. Successive overflows slowly build up the height of the shields. At the time of this photo, a second shield was also active out of sight to
...Inside USGS, No. 3, Robert Fournier, Yellowstone
USGS emeritus geologist RobertFournier describes his career working on Yellowstone geysers and hydrothermal systems from the 1960's through 2014. Bob's work along with his USGS colleagues revealed the details of Yellowstone's explosive volcanic past and how its spectacular geysers and other hydrothermal features work.
Inside USGS, No. 2, Patrick Muffler, Yellowstone
USGS emeritus geologist Patrick Muffler describes his career working on Yellowstone geysers and hydrothermal systems from the 1960's through 2014. Patrick's work along with his USGS colleagues revealed the details of Yellowstone's explosive volcanic past and how its spectacular geysers and other hydrothermal features work.
Inside USGS No. 1, Robert Christiansen, Yellowstone
USGS emeritus geologist Robert Christiansen describes his career working on Yellowstone geology from the 1960's through 2014. Bob's work along with his USGS colleagues revealed the details of Yellowstone's explosive volcanic past including mapping and dating of past super eruptions 2.1 million years ago, 1.3 million years ago and 640,000 years ago.
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (Part 2 of 3)
USGS Scientist-in-Charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Jake Lowenstern, answers
the following questions to provide a tour of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory: "What is YVO?", "How
do you monitor volcanic activity at Yellowstone?", "How are satellites used to study deformation?", "Do
you monitor geysers or any other aspect of the Park?", "Are
Yellowstone Eruptions (Part 3 of 3)
USGS Scientist-in-Charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Jake Lowenstern, answers
the following questions to explain volcanic eruptions at Yellowstone: When was the last supereruption at
Yellowstone?", "Have any eruptions occurred since the last supereruption?", "Is Yellowstone overdue for
an eruption?", "What does the magma below indicate about a
Yes! Yellowstone is a Volcano (Part 1 of 3)
USGS Scientist-in-Charge of Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Jake Lowenstern, answers
the following questions to explain volcanic features at Yellowstone: "How do we know Yellowstone is a
volcano?", "What is a Supervolcano?", "What is a Caldera?","Why are there geysers at Yellowstone?",
and "What are the other geologic hazards in Yellowstone?"
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