New research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Yellowstone Volcano Observatory shows that the last big eruption at Yellowstone Volcano was not a single massive explosion. It was a series of eruptions that expelled volcanic material rapidly.

The findings indicate that the formation of the Yellowstone Caldera was more complex than we thought. Yellowstone is one of the largest volcanos in the world. It is situated above a hot spot in the Earth’s mantle.

Over the past 3 million years, Yellowstone has experienced three eruptions. These eruptions were characterized by the expulsion of huge amounts of lava material. The Huckleberry Ridge Tuff and Lava Creek events released over 240 cubic miles of lava material.

The Lava Creek eruption has been shown to have led to the formation of the Yellowstone Caldera. The Mesa Falls eruption, on the other hand, expelled 67 cubic miles of lava material. This makes it about 10 times larger than the eruption that was experienced at Mount St. Helens in 1980. Mount St. Helens does not meet the criteria that define an eruption as a super-eruption.

Earlier studies indicate that the Lava Creek eruption was not exactly an isolated event. There are deposits at the Sour Creek Dome region, which is located to the east of the national park that suggest there was at least one preceding eruption before the super eruption took place.

To better understand the eruption timeline of this entire volcanic action, scientists have focused their efforts on remapping and collecting samples at the Sour Creek Dome.