Yellowstone volcano: Scientist claims Yellowstone could erupt 'next week' - It is overdue?

YELLOWSTONE volcano could unexpectedly erupt next week, an American scientist has claimed after admitting no one knows when the supervolcano will rumble back to life - but are we overdue another Yellowstone eruption any time soon?

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Yellowstone is a ‘living and breathing caldera’ says expert

 has had at least three major eruptions in the past 2 million years, with each consecutive blast shaping the landscape around the volcano. The eruptions went off on average every 720,000 years, leading some to believe we are overdue another cataclysm.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), Yellowstone’s last major blasts went off about 640,000, 1.3 million and 2.1 million years ago.

The most recent eruption sculpted the modern-day Lava Creek Tuff – a geological formation stretching across Wyoming, Montana and Idaho in the northwestern US.

Today, Yellowstone volcano’s caldera measures an impressive 34 by 45 miles (55 by 72km).

It is, however, hard to predict what would happen if the US supervolcano decided to eruption for the fourth time.


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Yellowstone volcano: A scientist said the supervolcano could unexpectedly erupt (Image: GETTY)

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Yellowstone volcano: What are the most dangerous volcanoes in the world (Image: EXPRESS/GETTY)

And according to one scientist, another Yellowstone eruption could come much sooner than expected.

Ron Smith, a former professor in California, warned there is a chance Yellowstone will blow again in the future.

Speaking during a lecture at Dixie University in Utah, the scientist argued there is no way to predict with any certainty when this will happen.

He said: “Yellowstone has gotten a lot of publicity because of the severity of a supervolcano and the effect it would have on the Earth.

“We cannot say that Yellowstone is overdue. It is probably going to blow again but it could well be 500,000 years from now or a week from Tuesday.”

However, according to the USGS, the probability of another Yellowstone super-eruption is “extremely low” for the foreseeable future.

It is probably going to blow again

Ron Smith

A more likely scenario is Yellowstone will have a hydrothermal eruption and not a volcanic one.

Hydrothermal eruptions are smaller but still explosive events that occur in shallow reserves of steam and hot water.

The USGS said: “These reservoirs are the sources of Yellowstone's famous geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles.


Yellowstone volcano: Supervolcano eruption in USA

Yellowstone volcano: The supervolcano last erupted about 640,000 years ago (Image: GETTY)

Yellowstone volcano: Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone volcano: Geologists do not expect a major eruption any time soon (Image: GETTY)

“Such explosions could blast out shallow craters more than a kilometre wide; as has occurred in the northern Yellowstone Lake Basin, including Mary Bay and nearby Turbid Lake and Indian Pond, and in western Yellowstone National Park north of Old Faithful.

“Each of these craters was produced by steam blasts within the past few thousand years.”

Another more likely event is a smaller eruption of lava that “could also include explosive phases”.

A major caldera-forming eruption is the least likely of the three eruptive scenarios.

Is Yellowstone volcano overdue another eruption?

With only three major blasts under its belt, geologists do not believe there is any evidence to suggest Yellowstone erupts like clockwork.

The USGS said: “The three eruptions occurred 2.1 million, 1.3 million and 0.64 million years ago.

“The two intervals are thus 0.8 and 0.66 million years, averaging to a 0.73 million-year interval.

“Again, the last eruption was 0.64 million years ago, implying that we are still about 90,000 years away from the time when we might consider calling Yellowstone overdue for another caldera-forming eruption.

“Nevertheless, we cannot discount the possibility of another such eruption occurring sometime in the future, given Yellowstone's volcanic history and the continued presence of magma beneath the Yellowstone caldera.”