August 17, 2022

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Volcanoes

Scientists have described the giant pool of magma sitting just under surface of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming as a supervolcano.

Exactly how giant this supervolcano is has been the subject of much speculation until recently.

A team from the University of Utah have told the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco that Yellowstone's magama chamber is 2.5 times larger than previously thought.

It is an underground cavern that measures some 55 miles by 20 miles and runs between 3 and 9 miles below the earth.

If it blows it would wipe out America - and have enormous impacts on the rest of the world.


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Today's Random Fact:

The term "volcano" is from the Latin Volcanus or Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. The Romans first used the term to describe Mt. Etna, a volcanic mountain they believed was the forge of Vulcan.

Bonus Fact:

The myth of the lost city of Atlantis sinking beneath the waves may be based on the Greek island of Santorini, of which portions collapsed into the sea after a large volcanic eruption during the Bronze Age.

The most dangerous volcano today is Popocatepetl, nicknamed El Popo, which is just 33 miles from Mexico City. El Popo is still active, sending thousands of tons of gas and ash into the air each year.