Experts Reveal Volcanoes More Dangerous Than Yellowstone

A group of volcanologists previously revealed which volcanoes in the U.S. are most likely to cause major disasters in the country if they erupted. According to the experts, there are a couple of volcanoes in the U.S. that are far more dangerous than the Yellowstone supervolcano.

The volcano experts made the revelation during a previous Ask-Me-Anything session on Reddit. One of the questions they answer was about the most dangerous volcanoes in the country.

As noted by the experts, the Yellowstone Caldera is often referred to as the deadliest volcano in the U.S. due to its sheer size. It has also been the subject of apocalyptic scenarios due to the magnitude of its eruptions. Recently, it has been the center of numerous speculations because many believe that it is already due for another eruption.

Based on reports, the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts every 600,000 to 800,000 years. Since the last time it erupted was 630,000 years ago, many scientists believe that it is currently preparing for a powerful eruption.

However, some volcano experts still believe that Yellowstone will not erupt anytime soon. In fact, some of them believe that there are other volcanoes that are more dangerous than Yellowstone. One of these is the Kilauea volcano in the Hawaiian Islands. This is one of the most active volcanoes in the region and has been erupting continuously from 1983 to 2018.

Due to its volcanic activity, earthquake and volcano expert Wes Thelen believes that Kilauea has the potential to cause a large and destructive eruption in the near future.

“In the near future, Kilauea is the most likely to cause a large disaster,” he stated. “I suppose it also depends on what you mean by large. The 'National Volcano Early Warning System' Report assigns threat rankings of all volcanoes in the United States. Kilauea has the highest 'Threat Score.' If you are keeping track...Mount St. Helens is second and Yellowstone is...21.”

Aside from Kilauea, another volcano that experts believe is more dangerous than Yellowstone is Mount Rainier in Cascadia, which is about 59 miles south-southeast of Seattle. It is an active volcano and is known as the highest mountain in the entire state of Washington.

Since the surface of the mountain is covered in glacial ice, scientists believe an eruption from Mount Rainier would cause huge amounts of lahar. Because of this, it has been considered as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.

“By sheer size and area it might impact...and popularity, and history of hazard, but also thinking of all of those long term impacts, a large lahar from Mt. Rainier would definitely be a catastrophic disaster that would significantly impact a huge number of people in the U.S.,” Brian Terbush, a volcano program coordinator in Washington, stated.