Yellowstone gives aspiring post-apocalyptic writers new hope
I mean, really. Everyone from Phillip K. Dick to the ‘Fallout’ videogame series used nuclear war as a backdrop for stories set in the American West. Now, Mother Nature gives us new possibilities, only minus deadly radiation. Seems Yellowstone National Park is a giant caldera, essentially an old volcano cone that’s collapsed upon itself. And it’s been rising rather dramatic amounts (geologically-speaking, which is three inches per year). The largest volcano system in the world doesn’t show any signs of erupting anytime soon, as a geologist studying the caldera pleaded on Science Friday last week from NPR. For those of you looking for more exciting volcanos, Ana Krakatau, the volcano created after the largest recorded explosion in history, is at it again (pictured). Beyond the obvious immediate dangers, these volcanoes potentially have effects on the climate, both good and bad.
November 15th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Hi -
Uhhhhh: don’t you mean Yellowstone?
Yosemite is a glacier-carved valley, Yellowstone is the place with the hot springs, geysers and the like…
November 15th, 2007 at 7:51 am
Yeah… I must agree with the other commenter… I’ve *never* heard or read anything that would suggest that Yosemite is volcanic — in fact, it was most certainly glacially formed.
Yellowstone on the otherhand is actively geothermally active, with all sorts of geysers. Might want to rethink your post…
November 15th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Yellowstone, Yosemite, they both begin with a Y
November 15th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Yeah, I’m an idiot. Will get it changed when I get home. Some things shouldn’t be done late at night, I guess.