Is there a magma chamber under Yellowstone?

Is there a magma chamber under Yellowstone? Yellowstone is underlain by two magma bodies. The shallower one is composed of rhyolite (a high-silica rock type) and stretches from 5 km to about 17 km (3 to 10 mi) beneath the surface and is about 90 km (55 mi) long and about 40 km (25 mi) wide. The chamber is mostly solid, with only about 5-15% melt.

Do supervolcanoes have magma chambers?

Yellowstone supervolcano magma chamber has far more melted rock than thought. Scientists have worked out the consistency of the magma under the Yellowstone caldera using seismic waves — and the reservoir is filled with mush that doesn't pose an imminent eruption threat.

What is inside Yellowstone volcano?

What is the Yellowstone supervolcano? Lurking beneath Yellowstone National Park is a reservoir of hot magma five miles deep, fed by a gigantic plume of molten rock welling up from hundreds of miles below. That heat is responsible for many of the park's famous geysers and hot springs.

What volcano is bigger than Yellowstone?

Nestled in the San Juan Mountains, there is ample evidence of one of the largest known volcanic eruptions on the planet: a caldera 22 miles wide and 62 miles long. It's called the La Garita Caldera, and it rivals the Toba eruption in Indonesia and all Yellowstone eruptions.

How deep is the magma chamber below Yellowstone?

The magma chamber is believed to be about 40 by 80 kilometers across, similar in size to the overlying Yellowstone caldera. The top of the chamber is about 8 km deep and the bottom is around 16 km deep.

What is the largest predator in Yellowstone?

Weighing as much as 700 pounds apiece, they had no serious rivals. Grizzly bears, Yellowstone's top predators, are capable of bringing down an adult elk, but they mainly prey on calves. Coyotes, though numerous, were much too small to attack elk.

What was found at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake?

Under the seemingly placid waters of Yellowstone Lake lies the collapsed remains of a supervolcano that erupted 640,000 years ago.

What are the 3 super volcanoes in the US?

Is there a tectonic plate under Yellowstone?

Seismic data reveals a rising column of molten rock beneath Yellowstone that originates at least 400 miles below Earth's surface. This mantle plume explains why Yellowstone is located in the middle of a tectonic plate.

Where is the magma chamber in Yellowstone?

Two large reservoirs full of magma exist beneath the Yellowstone Caldera—one that's about three to ten miles beneath the surface, and another that's 12 to 30 miles below ground. Based on previous research, scientists thought the shallower reservoir was mostly solid, with just 5 to 15 percent melted rock.

What would happen if Yellowstone volcano erupted?

If another large, caldera-forming eruption were to occur at Yellowstone, its effects would be worldwide. Such a giant eruption would have regional effects such as falling ash and short-term (years to decades) changes to global climate.

What is the sleeping monster that was discovered 400 miles below Yellowstone Park?

This giant is the “supervolcano” that lies beneath Yellowstone National Park, the wildlife and forest preserve positioned on a sprawling expanse that extends through the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

Have dinosaurs been found in Yellowstone?

A femur (thigh bone) of the early dinosaur Chindesaurus, discovered at Petrified Forest National Park. The Jurassic (201 to 145 Ma) record of dinosaurs in the NPS is largely confined to the Colorado Plateau and Yellowstone area.

How fast is the magma rising beneath Yellowstone?

The upward movement of the Yellowstone caldera floor--nearly 3 inches (7 centimeters) per year for the past three years--is more than three times greater than ever observed since such measurements began in 1923, say Smith, geophysics postdoctoral associate Wu-Lung Chang and colleagues.