As a North American country with 9.3 million square kilometers of land, the United States has a population of about 300 million. Moreover, the topography of the country is relatively complex. Yellowstone Park is a national park in the country, and it is also the first national park in the world. According to the understanding, Yellowstone Park covers an area of approximately 890,000 hectares and is located in Wyoming, USA. The park is full of geysers, hot springs, steam pools, hot water pools, mud and so on. In addition, Yellowstone National Park is also one of the world’s largest volcanic craters, and there are 500 kilometers of mountain roads in the park.
However, it is precisely because the park contains a large amount of magma beneath the surface, it is called a “super volcano” and it is called a caldera. According to records, the caldera was formed by an eruption 640,000 years ago. At that time, a total of 1,000 cubic kilometers of volcanic ash, a large amount of rock and igneous debris were ejected, and a crater was also formed for this reason. In addition, the most violent eruption of the volcano was 2.1 million years ago, and about 2,450 cubic kilometers of volcanic material was ejected. In 2014, due to the continuous release of heat from the super volcano, the 5 kilometers long asphalt road in the park melted. For this reason, several parks had to be closed urgently.
According to understanding, the eruption period of the caldera in Huangshigong is about 600,000 to 800,000 years, so it is also called “gunpowder barrel” by the outside world. According to on-site exploration by geologists, it was discovered that the area of magma reached 70 kilometers, and the depth was about 10 kilometers, and the viscosity of the magma was extremely high. Of course, in addition to the currently proven magma area, there is also a magma area with a volume of approximately 46,000 cubic kilometers deep on the surface, which is more than 1,100 times that of my country’s Three Gorges Reservoir. We must know that the maximum storage capacity of the Three Gorges Reservoir is about 39.3 billion cubic meters, and the volume of the volcano in Yellowstone Park is too large to imagine.
Most importantly, if the volcano erupts, the consequences are absolutely unimaginable. At least the surrounding area will be greatly affected, and after the volcanic eruption, the forest in Yellowstone Park may no longer exist. We must know that there was a fire in Yellowstone Park in 1988, about 4.8 million acres of forest were affected, and more than 900,000 acres of forest were completely burned. Therefore, if there is a fire in Yellowstone Park in the United States, it is really hard to say whether these forests will survive.
After all, Yellowstone Park not only has one of the largest craters in the world, but also has the largest area of forest in the world. It can be said that as long as the volcano erupts, the forest will be destroyed, and for the United States, a total of more than 100 million US dollars was invested in rescuing the 1988 fire. If the fire happens again, it means that a huge investment is needed.
(Text/Hua Qiang)
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