The largest volcano in the USA. Probability and consequences of an eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano

The most pessimistic scenario for the awakening of a supervolcano is this: it will be an explosion comparable to the explosion of 1000 atomic bombs. The ground part of the supervolcano will collapse into a crater with a diameter of fifty kilometers. An environmental disaster will occur on Earth. For the United States, the eruption of Yellowstone would mean the end of existence.

The saddest thing is that not only alarmists, but also experts talk about such consequences. Jacob Löwenstern from the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (USA) said that during all previous eruptions of the supervolcano (there were three), more than 1 thousand km³ of magma fell out. This is enough to cover most of North America with a layer of ash up to 30 cm (at the epicenter of the disaster). Löwenstern also noted that the air temperature throughout the Earth will drop by 21 degrees, visibility for several years will become no more than half a meter. An era similar to nuclear winter will come.

Hurricane Katrina showed that the US civil defense system is not prepared for such large-scale disasters - and no country’s defense system can prepare for them.

Domestic scientists never tire of predicting the eruption of a supervolcano. Nikolai Koronovsky, head of the Department of Dynamic Geology, Faculty of Geology, Moscow State University, in an interview with Vesti, told what would happen after the eruption:

“Winds are predominantly westerly, so everything will go to the eastern United States. Will cover them. Solar radiation will decrease, which means the temperature will have to drop. The famous eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait in 1873 lowered the temperature by about 2 degrees in the equatorial region for a year and a half until the ash dissipated.”

First National Park; biosphere reserve of international importance. It is located in three states (Idaho, Wyoming, Montana) and is famous for its abundance of hot springs and geysers. The length of the park is more than 100 km, the total area is about 900 thousand hectares. One of the main attractions is the dormant volcano of the same name. Yellowstone is included in the version of our site.

Its opening took place in 1872. It is believed that this is the first park of its kind in the world. It is located in the heart of the Rocky Mountains on the tri-state border. Most of it fell in Wyoming. It's hard to believe, but more than 2/3 of the world's geysers are concentrated in Yellowstone. A special place among them is given to the geyser called Old Faithful. It shoots tons of water strictly on schedule.

Another local attraction is Yellowstone Lake. It is essentially the crater of a dormant volcano and the largest reservoir of water in the state of Wyoming. The lake is located at an altitude of over 2300 meters. The volcano itself has been inactive for more than hundreds of years, but the magma inside it is still boiling, which is why scientists believe that another eruption is just around the corner. This hot spot is being closely monitored.

Against the backdrop of a variety of water reservoirs, valleys, canyons, rich flora and fauna, a special place is occupied by the Great Prismatic Spring, the water temperature of which reaches 70˚C. The bright color palette of this source has long been the hallmark of the site. In winter, its banks are painted dark green, and in summer - orange. This riot of colors is due to the presence of a special kind of bacteria in the water.

You can get to your destination by car from the nearest city - West Yellowstone. Also, Wyoming Cody Airport is 80 km from the park. During the summer, buses depart from Salt Lake City towards Yellowstone.

Photo attraction: Yellowstone National Park

It claimed more than 70,000 lives in 1815. However, geologists today are more concerned about another peak, the eruption of which could cause the death of tens of thousands of Americans. "Time bomb", " the most dangerous volcano USA" - that's what they call it, located in Washington state, just 87 km from Seattle. According to volcanologists, even its minor activity can lead to a serious disaster, let alone a full-scale eruption, not inferior in strength to the last explosion.

When St. Helens began to erupt in May 1980, the energy it released was comparable to the power of 500 Hiroshima bombs. At that time, scientists could not even imagine that the mountain was capable of such a strong eruption. However, St. Helens is not the most dangerous volcano in Washington state. If Rainier exploded with the same force, the material losses would be much higher, and the number of deaths would be difficult to imagine.

The thing is that Rainier is located in a more densely populated area, and the glaciers lying on it are many times more massive than on St. Helens. The greatest danger to the population is represented by flows of stones and ash mixed with melted ice (lahars). Most of the villages located near the volcano were built on such streams formed in past millennia. About 150,000 people live on the old lahars, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The largest of them is called Osceola. It descended from Rainier approximately 5,600 years ago and covered an area of ​​more than 340 square kilometers with a layer of mud several tens of meters thick.

Just imagine a giant stream of hot mud moving at high speed. Scientists believe that Rainier is capable of producing lahars that flow down slopes at speeds of up to 70 km/h. According to geologist Jeff Clayton, a mudslide the size of Osceola could destroy the cities of Enumclaw, Orting, Kent, Auburn, Sumner and Renton, as well as reach the mouth of the Duwamish River, flood Seattle with mud, and cause a tsunami in Lake Washington and Puget Sound.

Cities in the Rainier region have early warning systems, but how realistic is it to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people in less than an hour? In the event of an eruption, numerous populated areas nearby will be completely destroyed. Residents of Orting, Sumner, Buckley and Enumclaw will have only 30 minutes to escape. After that, a powerful torrent, accelerated by the flow of rivers descending from Rainier, will bury their homes under a 30-meter layer of mud and debris. Even large cities will not be able to avoid disaster. Auburn and Puyallup, with a total population of about 80,000 people, will be covered by a 6-meter lahar in less than an hour, and Tacoma, where there are almost 200,000 residents, will be washed away by a 3-meter mudflow in 1.5 hours.

It's hard to imagine how terrifying the spectacle will be. The "river of death" tens of meters thick will bury everything in its path. If the lahar is within sight, then it is no longer possible to escape from it. The only hope is to reach some higher ground in a timely manner. If Rainier exploded today, it would be the worst natural disaster in US history. And scientists say that such an event is inevitable...

Although the Puget Sound is not very deep, lahars that enter it can cause huge waves. It must be borne in mind that a tsunami is not just a flow of water. Remember the disaster in Japan in 2011. Then giant boulders mixed with houses, trees, cars, ships, cows. Instead of water flows, tons of garbage will pass through the cities, containing many sharp fragments and heavy objects. Once caught in such a cycle, it is no longer possible to survive.

Scientists studying Rainier say it has erupted at least 60 lahars in the past. Given its location on , there is a high probability that it will continue to emit ash and dirt. According to volcanologists, seismic activity will intensify before the eruption, and it must be said that over the past few months about 20 earthquakes have been recorded on the mountain. It is quite possible that his activities will begin without warning. Full blown explosion anyway Mount Rainier will lead to death and destruction that is absolutely unprecedented in the modern period.

When the whole of Europe was experiencing political catastrophes, in the United States the earth's surface began to tremble in the most literal sense - an earthquake occurred in a national park in the state of Wyoming, the strength of which was almost 5 points, and reports appeared in all media that the end of the world would soon come.

What happened in April of this year in a national park in a US state?

This spring, experts around the world began to sound the alarm that the Yellowstone volcano in America began to become active and awaken. The reason for this was several earth tremors, the strongest of which was 4.8 points, and a significant increase in water temperature in the geyser lakes. According to experts, this could cause catastrophic consequences, even the Apocalypse. So far, no end of the world has happened, although this volcano is waking up in America, but how long will this fairly calm life last? No one can even imagine this. In fact, people know no more about the processes that occur underground than about what is happening in the far ends of space, and perhaps when the Yellowstone volcano wakes up, we will all be in for an unpleasant surprise. As we have already said, we can only guess about this.

What volcano is waking up in America? What's special about the Yellowstone volcano?

It is located in Wyoming, in Yellowstone National Park. The park itself is very beautiful, and in particular the photos of these places speak about this. The volcano is so huge that not everyone will even notice it up close. You may simply not understand that what you are looking at is the crater of a volcano. Essentially, this is a huge “bowl” in the mountains, which are located within the national park. In scientific terms, this “bowl” is called a caldera. It covers an area of ​​4 thousand square kilometers. For a more accurate idea, let’s say that the area of ​​the “bowl” is one and a half areas of Moscow and two areas of Tokyo. At this time, it is the most powerful volcano active on Earth. According to scientists, the force of the eruption of this volcano will be comparable to the force of the explosion of a thousand atomic bombs.

A volcano that just can't calm down

Scientists have also found that over the past 17 million years, with a periodicity of approximately 600 thousand years, this volcano has been awakening in America. During eruptions, gigantic amounts of ash and lava are thrown to the surface. The thickness of the caldera is only 400 meters, and on average on the planet its thickness is 40 kilometers. According to researchers, the last time the Yellowstone volcano erupted was 640 thousand years ago. So, perhaps soon we will be talking about the Yellowstone volcano waking up in America. And on Earth another large-scale catastrophe begins, as a result of which all living things die.

Will the world end when the Yellowstone volcano erupts?

Some researchers believe that the risk of disaster is very high. According to them, the force of the eruption will be comparable to the force of the cataclysm that occurred during the origin of life on Earth. Many thousands of cubic kilometers of lava will be poured into the United States. Those places where the lava does not reach will be covered with volcanic ash. All of North America will turn into an uninhabited desert.

Other countries, according to experts, cannot avoid disaster either, since the ash will rise into the earth’s atmosphere and cover the entire surface of our planet from the sun’s rays. It will be a very long night all over the Earth. It will be impossible to see anything even at arm's length.

On Earth, deprived of the sun's heat, winter will reign. Temperatures in different parts of the planet will drop to levels from -15 to -50 degrees. Plants will die, agricultural production will sharply decrease. People will begin to die from hunger and hypothermia. According to experts, 99% of the world's population will die, and the countdown to the beginning of these terrible days has already begun...

What signs indicate that an eruption is near?

It’s far from a fact that the experts are right and everything will end as badly as described just above. However, since the beginning of 2014, according to various sources, from 60 to 200 tremors have occurred in Yellowstone. The strongest of them was recorded on March 30, its power was, as already mentioned, 4.8 points. The temperature of many geyser lakes in the national park sharply increased by 20 degrees. This means that magma moves along to the Earth's surface.

According to scientists, in the event of a volcano explosion in Yellowstone, a gigantic mass of magma, the size of which would be somewhere around 80 by 20 kilometers, could spill onto the ground. The world may not end, and not many people will die, or even everyone will survive, but the American economy could take a significant hit. It is possible that other countries will have to help the United States cope with the consequences of a disaster that could arise due to the awakening of the Yellowstone volcano in America.

What else could happen if the Yellowstone volcano explodes?

As is already clear, reports of the imminent end of the world after the earthquakes in Yellowstone are somewhat premature. It definitely won't start right now or anytime soon. However, it cannot be guaranteed that it will not happen at all. It is possible that a giant earthquake will occur in Yellowstone, which will also no doubt cause significant damage.

In general, one cannot say for sure about the possibility of an eruption and the consequences that will occur when the Yellowstone volcano wakes up; one can only guess. Perhaps ordinary people are not told everything and something is hidden from them. Nobody can say anything about this for sure. We only know that in the spring the American government did not evacuate people from areas close to Yellowstone National Park.

There have been many predictions about the end of the world, and the largest volcano in America, Yellowstone, is often cited as one of the reasons for the global catastrophe. And yes, if it erupts, it can destroy the continent.

Yellowstone volcano

The caldera of the Yellowstone volcano is so gigantic that it houses a national park (by the way, of the same name). Its dimensions are approximately 55 kilometers by 72 kilometers. Moreover, its dimensions were determined recently: in the 1960-1970s. And this is not just a volcano, but a supervolcano. You can walk here without even suspecting that there is a volcano under your feet.

In reality, supervolcanoes are still quite difficult today; about 20 such formations are known to the world. It is quite possible that some of them have not yet been recognized, while others are considered ordinary extinct volcanoes that appeared in ring structures as a result of a cosmic body (asteroid, meteorite or comet) falling to Earth many millions of years ago.

Yellowstone is located in a so-called hot spot: under the caldera there is a huge bubble of magma, the depth of which, according to research, is about 8 thousand meters.

The temperature inside this giant bubble, according to scientists, exceeds 800 degrees. That is why there are a huge number of thermal springs in the park, as well as a valley of geysers. By the way, it is the largest in the world (there are five such valleys on the planet).

Today this volcano poses one of the greatest dangers to the Earth. From time to time, scientists make predictions in the media that an eruption may begin, which will become a real catastrophe for humanity.

The most dangerous magma bubble

Earthquakes are a regular occurrence in Yellowstone National Park. On average, they occur from 1000 to 2000 per year, however, they are very weak, and a person does not feel them. And many tourists come here to admire the amazing scenery.

In general, supervolcanoes represent the second largest catastrophic phenomenon. Scientists put the fall of an asteroid in the first place. In the history of the planet, eruptions of such volcanoes led to mass extinctions, as well as climate change, since the ash did not allow sunlight to penetrate the Earth and a long “volcanic winter” was established on the planet.

On average, Yellowstone volcano erupts approximately every 600 thousand years: the most recent one occurred 640 thousand years ago, before that - 1.3 million years ago, and even earlier - 2.1 million years ago, so a new catastrophe is looming. The likelihood of a new eruption in the near future is quite low, but there is a risk that constant earthquakes could provoke a new tragedy on the planet.

So, in 2014, an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.8 occurred here (usually a magnitude of no more than 3), some researchers predicted further more powerful tremors and said that America had only a couple of weeks to live. And even then, animals began to run away from the park en masse, which caused additional unrest among the population. Watch the buffaloes run, you would probably get excited too.

True, the authorities then reassured citizens and said that this was normal migration due to the onset of cold weather.

What could be the consequences

Scientists predict that the eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano will release approximately a thousand cubic kilometers of magma into the environment. This is enough to kill everything within a 160 km radius and cover most of the continent with a layer of ash about 30 centimeters thick. The victims could be 100 thousand people, but it would also be a real disaster for the planet: volcanic ash would change the atmosphere and block sunlight for several years, maybe decades, and then the average annual temperature could drop by about 20 degrees.

By the way, in the disaster film “2012” the Yellowstone eruption occurs.