Will the yellowstone super volcano erupt soon?
Its volcanic activity is currently exhibited only via numerous geothermal vents scattered throughout the region, including the famous Old Faithful Geyser, but within the past two million years it has undergone three extremely large explosive eruptions. The most recent such eruption occurred 640,000 years ago, and spread a layer of volcanic ash over most of the North American continent. Smaller explosive eruptions, similar to the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, occur every 20,000 years or so; an explosion 13,000 years ago left a 5 kilometer diameter crater at Mary Bay, on the edge of Yellowstone Lake (located in the center of the caldera). As a result of all this activity small earthquakes are common; in 2002 about 2,300 earthquakes were recorded in Yellowstone park. Most of these were too small to be felt by humans.
