What is the straight dope about Yellowstone national park?
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress as a national park on March 1, 1872, is located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho. The park was the first of its kind, and is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is dominant. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468 square miles, comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. Source:Wikipedia Sources: http://en.wikipedia.
The Straight Dope is that Yellowstone is sitting on a supervolcano that may erupt soon. By soon, it means the next couple of thousand years. Soon in scientific terms is much different than in human terms! The last time the supervolcano erupted was 640,000 years ago. A series of mini-earthquakes hit Yellowstone National Park and it has led people to believe that another eruption will be here sooner rather than later. Sources: http://www.straightdope.
