Yellowstone Caldera - Science

Yellowstone Caldera

How do volcanoes form?

- Volcanoes are formed when magma from within the Earth’s upper mantle works its way up to the surface. When it reaches the surface, it erupts to form lava flows and ash deposits. Over time as the volcano continues to erupt, it will get bigger and bigger.

Where is it located?

- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States

When did it last erupt?

- Approximately 640,000 years ago, which produced 240 cubic miles ( 1,000 km3 ) of rock, dust and volcanic ash into the sky.

Did it do any damage when it last erupted?

- If the Yellowstone Caldera spewed ash it would have gone thousands of miles across the United States- damaging buildings, ruining crops and shutting down power plants

Stories/myths?

- Many people believe an eruption will happen every 600,000.

- When it was to erupt it would cause drastic damage and cause a change in temperature and much more.

- It said to be changing frequently.

Volcano eruption:

I and my group had the task of creating a look-alike volcano to one of our group members volcanoes. We chose Mauna Loa, as the volcano to create. Once it was created, we then added into a beaker 20ml of water and then 4 spatulas of potassium iodide. Then in our water bottle which was in the middle of the volcano ( we stuck paper around it, which created our volcano ), we added to the bottle an amount of Hydrogen Peroxide, with dishwashing liquid and any food colouring of your choice.