Although the YellowStone Caldera has not had an eruption in many years, scientists still know quite a bit about the caldera's eruption style.Because the caldera is a continental hot spot and not in the ocean or on a plate boundary, the ryolitic magma gathers more and more debris and rocks from the earth and traps more gases building up pressure. If the caldera were to erupt, the magma would have such a high pressure it could explode in an extremely destrucive way and potentially cause a super eruption. The hazards could be extreme. There could be extensive pyroclastic flows and an overwhelming amount of debris. The entire eruption depends on the amount of eruptable magma, so there is a chance that the eruption would only be moderate.
Photo: Virtual picture of the YellowStone Caldera
John Kisk, Science World Photos
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