How deep is the magma below Yellowstone?

This rhyolite is derived from a magma reservoir located in the shallow crust, only 5 to 17 km (about 3 to 10 mi) below the Earth's surface, and that provides the heat to fuel Yellowstone's vast hydrothermal system of hot springs, mudpots, and geysers.



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They found evidence for a plume that is 350 km (about 220 mi) in diameter extending from the core-mantle boundary all the way to the base of the crust at Yellowstone. The suspected plume is tilted to the northeast, probably due to circulation patterns within the mantle.

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This giant is the “supervolcano” that lies beneath Yellowstone National Park, the wildlife and forest preserve positioned on a sprawling expanse that extends through the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

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The total energy released would be equivalent to an 875,000 megaton explosion. The shockwave would kill 90,000 people. Most of the lava would fall back into the crater.

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The upward movement of the Yellowstone caldera floor--nearly 3 inches (7 centimeters) per year for the past three years--is more than three times greater than ever observed since such measurements began in 1923, say Smith, geophysics postdoctoral associate Wu-Lung Chang and colleagues.

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More liquid magma lurks beneath the Yellowstone supervolcano than scientists once thought. But don't panic: That amount of magma, researchers say, is still nowhere near enough to portend an eruption any time soon.

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Under the seemingly placid waters of Yellowstone Lake lies the collapsed remains of a supervolcano that erupted 640,000 years ago.

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If another large, caldera-forming eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide. Such a giant eruption would have regional effects such as falling ash and short-term (years to decades) changes to global climate.

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