Chapter+15

=**Dangerous Beauty Section 1 & 2** =

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Do you know what a caldera is?... A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters. In the 1960's scientists knew that Yellowstone(national park) had active volcanic activity. So where was the Caldera? It took years but soon they found it because NASA sent them some interesting pictures from one of there satellites. Why couldn't they find the caldera... because they were in it. The caldera was 2.2 million acres. More than 40 miles across.. One of the biggest ever discovered. It must have blown up beyond any force humans have ever known. Yellowstone is a super volcano. It sits on a huge hot spot. Under the park there is a huge magma chamber measuring 8 miles thick and 45 miles across...roughly the same dimensions of the park.The visitors of Yellowstone National Park and anyone near it are sitting on top of a ticking bomb. Whats happens if an explosion of this magnitude exploded?.... total destruction. The whole U.S. would be feet deep in ashes and the world's weather will go insane because there will be no light. We have no warning for when it will happen again. But according to the time occurrences of when past explosions have happened we are way past do. We will never know we just have to wait and be prepared.=====



Part of Yellowstone Caldera

Dangerous Beauty...Sections 3&4 Many tragedies occur on this beautiful planet we live on every day. Recently the Yellowstone are has created a new group, or idea some may say. The name of the idea is Yellowstone Volcanic Observatory, also known as YVO. The group is made of several scientist. Christiansen is in Menlo Park, California, Professor Robert B. Smith at the University of Utah, and Professor Doss in the Yellowstone Park. The main purpose of the group is to analize and study the Yellowstone diversity. They want to study the activity that goes on in the park and in other places of the country. The group has witnessed many activites that have destroyed parts of the beautiful planet we live on. Some of the occurences they have encountered have been worse than others. Not only does the group witness volcanic activity but they also encounter earthquakes, rock slides, and fault line appearences. , One major event was a catastophic earthquake that occured in Yellowstone. On August 17, 1959, 11:40 p.m. this tragic earthquake occured. The earthquake happened in Hebgen Lake. For no apparent reason a terrifying, 7.5 earthquake happened. The quake collapsed a whole mountain side. Within a blink of an eye 80 tons of rock fell to the ground. The 3 scientist studied the earthquake and found no reasoning behind it. They said, "It was one of those tradgedies that can never be expected. " Another study the scientist did was on the Teton fault lines. The Teton fault lines are just a little ways south of Yellowstone. Nine million years ago the Tetons didn't exist. Where the Tetons currently are there used to be a very grassy plain. Then a forty mile long fault line came up. About every nine years a trembling earthquake sends the fault about six feet higher. The Tetons now extend upward seven thousand feet. Their amazing heights was achieved by repeated jerks over eons. The Tetons are now amazing to view.