# Yellowstone's gonna blow! We're all doooooooooomed! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304 "2008-12-31T01:19:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/121 "2009-01-02T20:43:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The western US actually has two - Yellowstone and the Valles Caldera in New Mexico. USA! USA! USA! In a really odd, twisted and thoroughly EVIL mindset, we have two superweapons that we could use to destroy humanity. _ **Back off, or we’ll set off the Yellowstone SuperVolcano with a bunch of nukes and lay waste to the entire planet!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/122 "2009-01-02T20:59:25Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > What about [Long Valley Caldera](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Valley_Caldera) in California? Oh, yeah - that one, too. How did we wind up with THREE of these things? So, um **Chimera** make that THREE “superweapons” ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/123 "2009-01-02T21:09:31Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Whatsamatter? You never saw _The Breakfast Club_? Specifically the scene where Claire’s viriginity is discussed? “Well, Brian’s trying to tell me that in addition to the number of girls in the Niagara Falls area, that presently you and he are, riding the hobby horse” [http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/regent/827/script.html](http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/regent/827/script.html) ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/124 "2009-01-02T22:02:58Z")
“Our two chief weapons are Yellowstone, the Valles Caldera, and the Long Valley Caldera. Our _three_ chief weapons are Yellowstone, the Valles Caldera, and the Long Valley Caldera, and several thousand thermonuclear weapons. Amongst our chief weapons–” “I’ll come in again.” And of course we are world leaders in the production and utilization of Comfy Chairs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/125 "2009-01-02T22:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=El Kabong] My understanding is that the [Dr. Evil voice]MAG-ma[/Dr. Evil voice] contains large amounts of gas in solution. Until the chamber roof loses structural integrity, the pressure contained by the system keeps the gas in solution. The explosive bit comes immediately after the chamber roof collapses; at that point, due to the loss of pressure containment, the gas bubbles permeating the molten rock rapidly expand and coalesce, and that’s where you get your earth-shattering kaboom. [/QUOTE] You should see what happens if you quickly drop in a bunch of Mentos! I want to see a clip of that on YouTube… ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/126 "2009-01-03T00:17:04Z")
[New article from Time/CNN on this topic.](http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1869313,00.html?cnn=yes) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/127 "2009-01-03T01:04:25Z")
Playing devil’s advocate again: [US News and World Reports](http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2009/01/02/yellowstone-earthquake-swarm-updated.html) indicates that there have been 30 earthquakes of 2.5 or greater in the past five days. There were 128 in the entirety of the last decade, and FOUR in the 1980’s. How can this NOT be a clear sign of something HUGE? Maybe even… apocalyptic? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/128 "2009-01-03T01:39:15Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Playing devil’s advocate again: [US News and World Reports](http://www.usnews.com/blogs/capital-commerce/2009/01/02/yellowstone-earthquake-swarm-updated.html) indicates that there have been 30 earthquakes of 2.5 or greater in the past five days. There were 128 in the entirety of the last decade, and FOUR in the 1980’s. > > How can this NOT be a clear sign of something HUGE? Maybe even… apocalyptic? 🙂 All those “end of days” Christians are going to be pissed if it doesn’t involve the Jews. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/129 "2009-01-03T01:51:05Z")
Well, who did you think lives in a city in the center of the Earth and causes hurricanes, earthquakes, and mudslides? The Nazis? Magma? Hah! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/130 "2009-01-03T02:18:42Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > With our current technology? No, I don’t believe so. We are just starting to attempt to relieve build ups of toxic gasses in volcanic lakes in Africa, and that doesn’t involve molten rock, just gas pockets. Well, if [this site](http://www.detailshere.com/tunnelmachine.htm) is accurate about nuclear powered tunnelling machines, then we do. The mahine would have to be fully automated, of course, and you’d need to start the tunnel some place really freakin’ far away (like off-shore) and hope that when it finally breaks through that it _doesn’t_ cause _all_ of the Earth’s magma to start squirting out of the hole. If the hole was deep enough, then the magma would flow through the tunnel without bursting out of it until it reached the starting point (assuming it didn’t peter out before then). Of course, all you _might_ do is _expand_ the danger area. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JerseyFrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bcef8e/32.png) [@JerseyFrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerseyFrank)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/131 "2009-01-03T02:27:06Z")
> [@Mindfield](#): > > I bloody well _hope_ it doesn’t do it while I’m taking a leak. I’d prefer it happen while I’m having hot, sweaty monkey sex. If the world’s going to go out with a bang, so am I. Well, if it’s anything like that, it’s definitely going to erupt before the park ranger wants it to. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/132 "2009-01-03T02:42:40Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Oh, yeah - that one, too. How did we wind up with THREE of these things? Stop complaining! That’s because you made bad choices in your life. I, on the other hand, made sure nothing bad could ever happen to me. I choose to live away from any supervolcano, I took a global cataclysm insurance and just in case got a degree in supervolcanology, a skill that will be in high demand if such an eruption happen. If half the USA gets engulfed in the eruption, don’t open a Pit thread to bitch about it. Just take responsibility for your failures, and work hard to dig yourself out of the ashes. ---
**Author:** ![Jaglavak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jaglavak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaglavak)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/133 "2009-01-03T02:43:02Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > The explosive bit comes immediately after the chamber roof collapses; at that point, due to the loss of pressure containment, the gas bubbles permeating the molten rock rapidly expand and coalesce, and that’s where you get your earth-shattering kaboom. And water. It’s mostly water under heat and pressure. When you pop the cork on that it explodes to around 1700 times it’s liquid volume and turns the lava to foam. Bonus, a steam explosion keeps exploding until about half the water has flashed to steam. That’s what makes a boiler explosion so bad. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/134 "2009-01-03T02:50:37Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Well, if [this site](http://www.detailshere.com/tunnelmachine.htm) is accurate about nuclear powered tunnelling machines, then we do. The machine would have to be fully automated, of course, and you’d need to start the tunnel some place really freakin’ far away (like off-shore) and hope that when it finally breaks through that it _doesn’t_ cause _all_ of the Earth’s magma to start squirting out of the hole. If the hole was deep enough, then the magma would flow through the tunnel without bursting out of it until it reached the starting point Obviously, nothing can possibly go wrong with this plan. When do we begin? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/135 "2009-01-03T03:04:02Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > just in case got a degree in supervolcanology, a skill that will be in high demand if such an eruption happen. Ha! Those still alive will be stringing you fellas up from the nearest lamp post, assuming any are still standing. I, on the other hand will be informing upon you and your ilk in order to curry favor with the female survivors. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/136 "2009-01-03T04:08:18Z")
> [@Jaglavak](#): > > And water. It’s mostly water under heat and pressure. When you pop the cork on that it explodes to around 1700 times it’s liquid volume and turns the lava to foam. Bonus, a steam explosion keeps exploding until about half the water has flashed to steam. That’s what makes a boiler explosion so bad. Yep, if I were to lay down any of my own money on a bet, a (primarily) steam explosion of some sort doesn’t seem an entirely unlikely outcome. Doesn’t help that the apparent point of failure is directly underneath Lake Yellowstone. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/137 "2009-01-03T04:21:18Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > How can this NOT be a clear sign of something HUGE? Maybe even… apocalyptic? 🙂 I wouldn’t consider the current earthquake swarm as a clear sign of something huge. On the other hand, the swarm is significant in terms of continuing intensity, varying depth levels of the quakes, concentration of quakes in a very small geographic area, all within a “sensitive” area of the caldera. The USGS continues with their [usual restrained press release](http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/activity/), this time stating there has been more than 500 earthquakes since the swarm began. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/138 "2009-01-03T05:48:33Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Stop complaining! That’s because you made bad choices in your life. I, on the other hand, made sure nothing bad could ever happen to me. I choose to live away from any supervolcano, I took a global cataclysm insurance and just in case got a degree in supervolcanology, a skill that will be in high demand if such an eruption happen. > > If half the USA gets engulfed in the eruption, don’t open a Pit thread to bitch about it. Just take responsibility for your failures, and work hard to dig yourself out of the ashes. But…but…I couldn’t _afford_ to move to another continent! ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/139 "2009-01-03T08:25:16Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Well, if [this site](http://www.detailshere.com/tunnelmachine.htm) is accurate about nuclear powered tunnelling machines, then we do. The mahine would have to be fully automated, of course, and you’d need to start the tunnel some place really freakin’ far away (like off-shore) and hope that when it finally breaks through that it _doesn’t_ cause _all_ of the Earth’s magma to start squirting out of the hole. If the hole was deep enough, then the magma would flow through the tunnel without bursting out of it until it reached the starting point (assuming it didn’t peter out before then). > > Of course, all you _might_ do is _expand_ the danger area. :eek: So, the magma flowing through the tunnel would build up into a new island while the land above the magma chamber would become even more hazardous than before. Resulting in a high demand for that new island real-estate you’ve just created offshore. Hmm… your real name isn’t Lex, is it? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304/140 "2009-01-03T08:37:10Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > But…but…I couldn’t _afford_ to move to another continent! If you move closer to the volcano, when it blows, **it** will move you to a another continent. Probably several, depending on the wind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yellowstones-gonna-blow-were-all-doooooooooomed/479304.md?page=8)