The massive Yellowstone volcano eruption could kill up to 90,000 people in an instant and create a dense ash cloud that would sink the plant into a "nuclear winter."
Wyoming's massive Yellowstone volcano may look beautiful, but it has great power. Researchers believe it has the potential to occur one of the deadliest eruptions in human history, although fortunately for our planet, the massive volcano has been dormant for more than 600,000 years. But some scientists fear that the sleeping giant may one day wake up and unleash global chaos.
Pressure under Yellowstone has been mounting for hundreds of thousands of years. The heat from the depths of the volcano will begin to rise, and molten rocks will melt just below the surface of the earth.
As the temperature rises from the heart, it will create a combination of magma, rock, steam, carbon dioxide and other gases.
Eventually, a dome will be built beneath the surface, leading to the height of the earth, and will become visible as it is about to blow.
If the volcano begins to erupt, the states around Montana and Idaho will be covered with volcanic magma and ash.
According to HowStuffStuff, the initial explosion will kill 90,000 people instantly, but this will only be the beginning of the storm.
The explosion will spread a three-meter-long magma layer across 1,600 kilometers. This means that rescuers will struggle to reach the site of the explosion, putting more and more civilians at risk.
HowStuffWorks said: "Rescuers may have a hard time getting there. The ash will prevent all entry points from the Earth, and the spread of ash and gases in the atmosphere will stop most flights, just as when a much smaller volcano erupted in Iceland in 2010."
Nuclear winter begins when much ash and debris are transported from the Earth to the atmosphere.
This could cause a climate shift because the volcano will release huge amounts of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, which can form a sulfur spray that reflects and absorbs sunlight.
Ultimately, this will lead to lower temperatures across the planet, which could lead to inability to grow crops and eventually spread famine.
HowStuffStuff noted that low temperatures "will significantly affect our food supply, destroy crops and throw the food chain into poor condition by leaving those at the bottom with little food."
Fortunately, the chances of the Yellowstone explosion are very slim and virtually non-existent. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that there is a 0.00014% chance each year that the potentially catastrophic volcano will erupt.
"Fortunately, the chances of this type of eruption in Yellowstone are very slim in the next few thousand years. There is no evidence that a catastrophic explosion in Yellowstone is imminent, and such events are unlikely to occur in the next few centuries. Scientists found no sign of a smaller volcanic eruption imminent."
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