Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field
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The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, also known as the Yellowstone Supervolcano or the Yellowstone Volcano, is a complex volcano, volcanic plateau and volcanic field located mostly in the western U.S. state of Wyoming, but it also stretches into Idaho and Montana.[1][2] It is a popular site for tourists.[3]
The Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field began forming around 2 Ma (million years ago).[4] It has had over 110 different eruptions and has created mostly rhyolitic plains, with over 6000 km3 of rhyolitic material formed.[4] Scientists have discovered three major eruptions that formed calderas. They used methods of geological mapping, with both satellites and field work, and potassium-argon dating, to discover the eruptions.[2] The three major eruptions are:
- The first large eruption was about 2.08 Ma and created the Huckleberry Ridge Caldera.[1] This eruption produced more than 2,500 km2 of magma[4] through at least three volcanic vents that produced large ash sheets across the area.[1] This caldera had three main pulses of activity during its formation.[5]
- The second large eruption was about 1.3 Ma and created the Henrys Fork Caldera.[1] This eruption produced more than 280 km2 of magma [4] and was nested within a portion of a larger caldera, the Huckleberry Ridge Caldera.[1]
- The third large eruption was about 0.6 Ma and created the Yellowstone Caldera.[1] This eruption produced 1,000 km2 of magma [4] through at least two volcanic vents.[1] The Yellowstone Caldera is above a continental hot spot, the Yellowstone mantle plume.[5] After the caldera was formed, there were rhyolitic lava flows between 160,000 and 70,000 years ago.[5]
The Yellowstone Caldera is a resurgent caldera and has experienced resurgent doming.[5] The Yellowstone Caldera has two resurgent domes formed by magma upwelling called Sour Creek and Mallard Lakes.[5] The magma chambers under the Yellowstone Caldera provides heat and energy for large hydrothermal systems.[5][6] The Yellowstone Caldera has the greatest concentration of hydrothermal features in the world, and is an active system.[6] The magma, geothermal activity, and hydrothermal system can lead to caldera motion, ash clouds, and earthquakes, so the Yellowstone Caldera is labeled as a geohazard.[5] A large amount of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field is in the Yellowstone National Park.[2][1][5][6]
See also
References
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