Super Volcano: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Yellowstone National Park - Hardcover

Breining, Greg

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9780760329252: Super Volcano: The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Yellowstone National Park

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0760329257 ISBN 13: 9780760329252

Publisher: Voyageur Pr, 2007

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Despite growing evidence of geothermic activity under America's first and foremost national park, it took geologists a long time to realize that there was actually a volcano beneath Yellowstone. And then, why couldn't they find the caldera or crater? Because, as an aerial photograph finally revealed, the caldera is 45 miles wide, encompassing all of Yellowstone. What will happen, in human terms, when it erupts?

Greg Breining explores the shocking answer to this question and others in a scientific yet accessible look at the enormous natural disaster brewing beneath the surface of the United States. Yellowstone is one of the world's five "super volcanoes." When it erupts, much of the nation will be hit hard.

Though historically Yellowstone has erupted about every 600,000 years, it has not done so for 630,000, meaning it is 30,000 years overdue. Starting with a scenario of what will happen when Yellowstone blows, this fascinating study describes how volcanoes function and includes a timeline of famous volcanic eruptions throughout history.

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From the Back Cover:

Every year, 3 million visitors tour Yellowstone, America’s favorite national park. Yet most are unaware they are standing atop one the world’s most destructive volcanoes.

It’s active and could explode in another colossal eruption!

In field research and interviews, author Greg Breining uncovers the true story of the super volcano underlying Yellowstone National Park. The only volcano in the world fueled by a major hot spot beneath a continental plate, Yellowstone is capable of expelling more than 200 cubic miles of magma in a single blow. Three super eruptions rocked Yellowstone 2.1 million, 1.3 million, and 640,000 years ago, the most recent of which left a 50-mile-wide caldera in the center of the park.

A similar Yellowstone explosion would be devastating. It would rock the earth with the power of thousands of nuclear explosions, cover the western United States in volcanic ash, wipe out much of the world’s food supply, and threaten the lives of millions.

What are the chances Yellowstone will reawaken? The park’s spectacular geysers, hot springs, and mud pots are all signs that Yellowstone’s super volcano has the power to blow again—and Breining makes clear that the answer is not if it will erupt but when.

From the Inside Flap:

Every year, 3 million visitors tour Yellowstone, America’s favorite national park. Yet most are unaware they are standing atop one the world’s most destructive volcanoes.

It’s active and could explode in another colossal eruption!

In field research and interviews with geologists and a paleontologist, journalist Greg Breining uncovers the true story of the Yellowstone super volcano. It is capable of expelling more than 200 cubic miles of magma in a single blow. Breining looks at how geologists pieced together the puzzle of the Yellowstone super volcano, the devastation it has wrought, the natural wonders it has created, where it stands in relation to other prehistoric super eruptions, how it compares to famous deadly eruptions throughout history—and, finally, what will happen in the next big blast.

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