Just how long has the Yellowstone Hotspot been around? Release Date:
February 1, 2021
The Yellowstone hotspot the source of heat that powers Yellowstone’s vast volcanic system has long been thought to have initiated about 17 million years ago. A growing volume of evidence, however, suggests that it has been around much longer.
Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. This week s contribution is from Michael Poland, geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey and Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, and Vic Camp, Lecturer with the Department of Geological Sciences at San Diego State University.