GENRE Geography Tour
Read to find out about the volcanic features unique to Yellowstone.
by Richard Easby
Welcome to Yellowstone National Park! Our tour begins at the north
entrance. Take a look around and you can see a land covered in
trees and grasses, sparkling lakes, and rushing rivers. Most people
come to see Yellowstone's famous wildlife, such as bison, grizzly
bears, elk, and gray wolves. Yellowstone has 2.2 million acres of
wilderness, but the park is also a geological wonder. Three times
in the past two million years, huge volcanic eruptions spewed
hot ash, lava, and gas into the sky and across the land. These
eruptions helped create the land you see today.
Yellowstone sits on top of a geological hot spot. A churning
chamber, or huge, closed-in area, lies deep under the park. This
chamber is filled with magma, or melted rock, and it is part of
one of the world's largest volcanoes. You can't see the volcano,
though, because it is underground. The most recent eruption
happened about 640,000 years ago. Explosions caused part of
the magma chamber to collapse, forming a huge crater called a
caldera. Today, signs of volcanic activity are scattered throughout
Yellowstone. From Sizzling Basin and Firehole Canyon to Boiling
River, Yellowstone is one hot site. Let's find some examples of
volcanic activity in Yellowstone!
Grand Prismatic Spring
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