Talking about a Yellowstone Volcano eruption brings to mind an end of days scenario from which most of us die.
Some people will say, “It’s ready to blow,” to sell a book.
Some people will say, “Something is going on out there,” hoping they will be the first person to tweet, “I told you so.”
And some scientists will smugly say, “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of warning signs long before it ever happens.”
So holy crap on a stick, what’s a person to think?
Well, this is what I think. There is a lot of magma sitting under the caldera that has caused super-eruptions in the past with the last three being: The Huckleberry Ridge Eruption 2.1 million years ago, The Mesa Falls Eruption 1.3 million years ago, and The Lava Creek Eruption approximately 630,000 years ago, which created the Yellowstone Caldera.
So that makes the timing about right for another super-eruption, give or take thousands of years. However, seeing as how we live such short lifespans in comparison, I think we’re good for now. But what do I know, there may be a weak spot in the rock getting ready to let that lava lose any moment now, killing us all. Well, maybe not me, but those sheeple better watch out.
But seriously, there is no way of knowing for sure when it will happen. Still, one day some guy or gal watching it will get to tweet “I told you so,” and another hotspot will be added to the now 500-mile trail of past eruptions. This trial, created as the North American plate, moved in a southwestern direction over a shallow body of magma, is what brought the Yellowstone area to the shallow magma body. And it is this volcanism that remains a driving force in Yellowstone today.
The process is almost sure to repeat itself, and there is nothing we can do about it. Those who are alive at the time will have to deal with it the best they can.
I can be sure of one thing, though; there is going to be more crap in their underwear than on that stick when it does.
Timothy French 