Yellowstone National Park - 5 Miles Below This Wilderness Beauty in Wyoming, Lies a Sleeping Monster

An Eruption of the Yellowstone volcano could send ash drifting in the wind for years, blocking the sun and lowering temperatures. Imagine no gardens for six years.

No eruption in the near future?

Although some scientists and geologists believe there might not be an eruption in the near future, it is a possibility. An eruption could change lives across the globe for years.The first sign of trouble would be increased pressure as the ground would rise with the hot rock. Lava would break forth many times larger than the Mount St. Helens volcano. Hot gasses would spew forth and an ash cloud would balloon 80,000 feet into the air. More would follow with explosions 50 miles wide.

Destruction?

Destruction would cover 100 miles. An ash cloud would surround the planet and send temperatures down. Global agriculture would suffer.

Of the 1,500 volcanoes in the world, fewer than 10 of them are classed as a super volcano and Yellowstone is one.

Potential of the Yellowstone volcano?

Yellowstone is one that has a potential of destroying a great area and creating major global problems. This volcano can not be seen from a mountain-top but only from the air. The most recent eruption was at Lava Creek 640,000 years ago. Early man was not in this area yet, only prehistoric animals. Some scientists believe that with this eruption the hot rock came to the surface and super-heated water burst into the air. Hundreds of geysers might have erupted over 500 square miles, even into Idaho. For miles and days the hot rivers could have continued.

Ash in the wind!

Winds were suspected of carrying the ash across the country darkening the sky for 100's of miles. Then much of the mountain ranges dropped into the pit of melted hot rock. After weeks of activity the volcano subsided and the global disaster was about to begin

Scientists talk about what might have happened?

Ash drifted and buried 2,000 square miles of the North American Plains destroying a lot of plant and animal life. Lighter particles of ash stayed in the air for more than a year which blocked the sun and made temperatures fall. It killed plant life and animals starved. It took years for the planet to recover and plant-life to push through the ash - and for animals to reproduce.

Nebraska plains once home to elephants?

Volcanoes can cause planet-wide devastation from ash, in the tiny sparkles of glass in the dust that life breathes in. Ash particles in the lungs cause lung and bone diseases. The Nebraska plains used to have animals similar to those found in Africa today - animals whose bones have been discovered buried under ash - elephants, camels, rhinos and horses related to zebras.

Tamboro volcano!

In 1815 the Tamboro volcano erupted in the Indonesian Islands. An ash cloud went over India and caused temperatures to drop. Ash drifted over the globe for almost a year. In June 15, 1816, a New England newspaper, "The North Star" published this... "Snow and hail began to fall about 10 o'clock P.M., and the storm continued..."

No summer?

In some places in the eastern United States there was no summer. Some areas had snow and ice in July and crops died. Frigid weather reached Europe, 9,000 miles from Tamboro disrupting life again. In 1816 there was widespread starvation in the area that has never happened since.

Ash particles may drift in the air for a long time. Six years with no gardens would be a disaster.

Sources:

HINT Channel, "Mega Disasters" 4-13-10