What would happen if Yellowstone erupted today?

The eruption would entail more than dangerous lava flows and could be expected to kill as many as 90,000 people immediately and spread a 10-foot (3-meter) layer of molten ash as far as 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) from the park. Rescuers probably would have a tough time getting in there.



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A: For the most likely type of volcanic eruption in Yellowstone, everywhere would be safe except in the immediate vicinity of the advancing lava flow. In the highly improbable event of a large catastrophic eruption, the great the distance from the eruptive center, the safer it would be.

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Yellowstone Supervolcano (Wyoming, United States) Effects of a major eruption: When the Yellowstone Caldera, or supervolcano, in Yellowstone National Park erupts again, its effects would be worldwide, the U.S. Geographical Survey said.

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When the Yellowstone hot spot next has an eruptive event, most likely no part Texas will be affected. This is because a smaller eruption is expected by geophysicists well before a major one.

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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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If heat could be bled off of the magma chambers, cooling and solidifying them, not only would that (theoretically) stop the volcano from erupting, but the heat could be used to generate electric power with a geothermal energy plant.

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According to recent simulations, those closest to Yellowstone, including southern Alberta to southern Manitoba would experience ash fall that would cover the landscape up to one metre deep. This would shut down transportation, collapse buildings, short-out the electrical grid and cause massive agricultural failure.

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Volcanic ash fallout of more than 39.4 inches (one metre) would blanket Yellowstone's immediate vicinity in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Utah. The severity of the blast decreases further out form Yellowstone National Park but extends into Canada, Mexico and the East Coast.

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