The Supereruptions : Discovery Earth : Discovery Channel

WIDE ANGLE: The Supereruptions

Earth is capable of volcanic eruptions like none any human has ever seen. Supereruptions have happened throughout Earth's history with more frequency and greater global effects than meteor impacts -- and will happen again. Where were they and where will they be next?

Biggest Blasts on Earth

One of North America's great supereruptions came from the Valles Caldera, shown here in a south-looking view. The volcano looks like a giant pockmark in the middle of northern New Mexico. The Rio Grande can be seen to the left of the volcano, wending south through Albuquerque (upper left) in the distance.
Photo credit: NASA World Wind

Got Something To Say?

Speak up here:

Earth Pub Blog: Leave a comment
Earth Message Board: Discuss this article
Discovery Earth on Facebook: Connect with others
Twitter: Send Larry a Tweet

IM Interview: Deep Mysteries
Geologist Michael Ort chats with Larry O'Hanlon about what makes a supervolcano, a supereruption and the odds of one going ka-blooie any time soon.

Quiz: Your Supervolcanic Mind
Is your supervolcano I.Q. any good? Careful: That's a trick question. Find out the trick in this exclusive HowStuffWorks.com quiz.

Slide Show: Reilly's List: Ten Supereruptions
There is no agreement on what a supervolcano is, but geologists can agree on what a supereruption is. Michael Reilly, our resident volcanologist, lists his favorite superblasts from the past.

Interactive Map: Tracking Supereruptions
After flipping through the slide show above, move and click through this interactive map to see where these supereruptions happened.

Video: Top 5 Volcano Web Cams and Videos
They may not be supererupting (thank goodness) but you can see them disgorging lava live via these webcams. Think about it: These are rocks being born.

Puzzle: Sleeping Monsters
Try your hand at putting these areas back together after they've been blown apart by supererupting volcanoes.

Articles, Puzzles and More: The Yellowstone Supervolcano
Everything you wanted to know about Yellowstone National Park's supereruptive past, plus supervolcanic games and interactives.

HowStuffWorks.com: Ten Ways the World Will End: Supervolcanoes

HowStuffWorks.com: What A Yellowstone Supereruption Would Do To Civilization

Launch some thoughts into the stratosphere at Earth's global blog: Earth Pub.

CONTENT