The Recent Megaeruption in Yellowstone; The West Thumb Caldera

After the last supereruption at the Yellowstone supervolcano occurred, there was another more recent massive eruption which was 50 times larger than the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens. The eruption in question occurred a mere 174,000 years ago and is often forgotten about in the broader context of Yellowstone. This eruption formed the western section of Yellowstone Lake, creating the West Thumb Caldera.

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Graphics of eruption dates are courtesy of the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institute. https://volcano.si.edu/

Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google

0:00 Yellowstone's Recent Supereruption
0:20 A 2nd Recent Large Eruption
0:38 The West Thumb Caldera
2:18 Caldera Forming Eruption
3:15 Modern Appearance

Thumbnail Photo Credit: ELG21, Pixabay