Biggest Lava Threat Isn’t Yellowstone—and Missouri Could Feel It

Thanks to movies, I think most people are aware of the possibility of an eruption of the super-volcano that is underneath Yellowstone National Park. However, there's a new lava threat I've never heard anyone talk about that is much bigger than Yellowstone and its affects could even be felt as far east as Missouri, if not further.

Let's start with recent "ancient" history. This is a map showing how far ash traveled during the last eruption of the super-volcano in Yellowstone National Park

Notice that ash from that eruption did blanket Missouri and we know this because remnants of that ash have been found by researchers in the state. While an eruption of that magnitude happening in the future is terrifying (but not really that likely), there's a fascinating new video just shared a few days ago by PBS Terra that says there's something much larger we should be concerned about. It's called a Large Igneous Province that they say is capable of "pouring out millions of cubic kilometers of lava, filling entire regions thousands of feet thick, and unleashing pulses of greenhouse gases". There is a massive large igneous province in the pacific northwest.

To give you an idea how powerful this geological feature is, here's a scale comparing eruptions from Mt. St. Helens and Yellowstone to a large igneous province.

If one of these huge deposits of lava were to create a new event, it would dwarf what a Yellowstone eruption would do as far east as Missouri as the entire world would likely have weather and climate drastically affected. Mike Poland who is the scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcanic Observatory is featured in this PBS special. I've interviewed Mike on several occasions and he has very interesting insights on both Yellowstone and the large igneous province in the video below.

They conclude by saying that it's believed a 6th great mass extinction event will happen someday. The good news is it's not likely to happen in our lifetime, but the next time you see a disaster movie showing a Yellowstone eruption, know that there's a much bigger threat that silently waits to ruin everyone's day in the very distant (we hope) future.