What type of eruption will Yellowstone have if it erupts again?
The most likely explosive event to occur at Yellowstone is actually a hydrothermal explosion—a rock-hurling geyser eruption—or a lava flow. Hydrothermal explosions are very small; they occur in Yellowstone National Park every few years and form a crater a few meters across. Every few thousand years, a hydrothermal explosion will form a crater as much as a few hundred meters across.
Though the worst-case scenario for a giant Yellowstone eruption is indeed bad and could have global implications, most past eruptions at Yellowstone were not highly explosive. Of the past 50 or so eruptions, almost all were simple lava flows. If they occurred tomorrow or next year, they would have minimal direct effect outside Yellowstone National Park.
As for the worst-case scenario, even previous Yellowstone supereruptions did not cause extinctions, and ash fallout on the other side of the continent was minimal.
Yellowstone is routinely monitored for signs of volcanic activity. These methods include using seismographs to detect earthquakes and using GPS (Global Positioning System) to detect ground motion. The USGS has not detected any signs of activity that suggest an eruption is imminent.
Related Content
What is a supervolcano? What is a supereruption?
What would happen if a "supervolcano" eruption occurred again at Yellowstone?
When was the last time Yellowstone erupted?
How do scientists know what’s going on beneath the ground at Yellowstone? Is Yellowstone monitored for volcanic activity?
How much volcanic activity has there been at Yellowstone since the most recent giant eruption?
How far in advance could scientists predict an eruption of the Yellowstone volcano?
Can we drill into Yellowstone to stop it from erupting?
Could a large Yellowstone eruption significantly change the climate?
Which U.S. volcanoes pose a threat?
USGS Volcanic Threat Assessment updates the 2005 rankings.
EarthWord–Phreatic Eruption
This EarthWord is straight up steampunk...
The Complex Dynamics of Geyser Eruptions
Despite two centuries of scientific study, basic questions persist about geysers—why do they exist? What determines their behavior?
Study to Uncover Yellowstone’s Subsurface Mysteries
New study investigates groundwater from the air
EarthWord–Tephra
Look! In the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane! Wait, run, it’s this week’s EarthWord!
EarthWord: Fumarole
Fumaroles are openings in the earth’s surface that emit steam and volcanic gases, such as sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. They can occur as holes, cracks, or fissures near active volcanoes or in areas where magma has risen into the earth’s crust without erupting. A fumarole can vent for centuries or quickly go extinct, depending on the longevity of its heat source.
What Makes an Old Geyser Faithful?
New research suggests that how often Old Faithful and other Yellowstone geysers erupt may depend on annual rainfall patterns.
Forecasting Ashfall Impacts from a Yellowstone Supereruption
- Yellowstone is one of a few dozen volcanoes on earth capable of "supereruptions" that expel more than 1,000 cubic km of ash and debris.
- The plumes from such eruptions can rise 30 to 50 km into the atmosphere, three to five times as high as most jets fly.
- Yellowstone has produced three supereruptions in the past 2.1 million years. The most recent was
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).
Volcano Hazards
The United States has 169 active volcanoes. More than half of them could erupt explosively, sending ash up to 20,000 or 30,000 feet where commercial air traffic flies. USGS scientists are working to improve our understanding of volcano hazards to help protect communities and reduce the risks.
Video Sections:
- Volcanoes: Monitoring Volcanoes
Hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin in YNP. These types of even...
Hydrothermal explosion at Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park. These types of events are the most likely explosive hazard from the Yellowstone Volcano.
How many giant eruptions have occurred in Yellowstone National Park and how large were they?
Listen to hear the answer.
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?"
View
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
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
Excelsior Geyser erupting as a violent hydrothermal explosion. The ...
Excelsior Geyser erupted in a series of violent hydrothermal explosions in the 1880s and early 1890s; one of these eruptions is shown in this colorized postcard made from a photograph. These were the largest such events to occur in the Yellowstone region in historical times. (Original photograph by F. Jay Haynes, 1888; date on postcard is incorrect.)
Yellowstone Lake bathymmetry with zoom on hydrothermal craters
High-resolution bathymetric map of Yellowstone Lake (left) showing the location of hydrothermal vents (black dots) on the lake floor. Zoomed area at right is an ultra-high-resolution (25 cm) bathymetric map of an area known as "Deep Hole," which is a site of special focus for the HD-YLAKE project. The data for Deep Hole were collected by the Woods Hole Oceanographic
...