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Hannah Osborne

HISTORICAL FACTS: Yellowstone volcano super eruptions appear to have multiple explosive events | History Defined

The Grand Prismatic Spring at Yellowstone National Park sits in the Yellowstone Caldera, which formed 631,000 years ago (Image credit: Holger Leue/Getty Images)

The last super-eruption at Yellowstone volcano, which occurred 631,000 years ago, was not one huge explosion. Instead, new research suggests it was a series of eruptions or multiple vents spewing volcanic material in rapid succession. 

According to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Yellowstone Volcano Observatory 2022 Annual Report, published May 4, fieldwork over the past year has provided new geological evidence that "the formation of Yellowstone Caldera was much more complex than previously thought." A caldera is a large crater that forms after the collapse of a volcano following an eruption. 

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