Yellowstone hotspot

A mantle-related source of volcanism beneath Yellowstone that formed a northeast-trending chain of volcanic features across the Snake River Plain.

Mantle plume: A localized upwelling of hot mantle rock that can generate volcanism far from plate boundaries. A plume is the leading explanation for the deep heat source beneath Yellowstone.
Island Park Caldera: A large volcanic depression in eastern Idaho formed during an explosive eruption about 2.1 million years ago. It marks the oldest of Yellowstone’s three major caldera-forming eruption centers.
Mantle transition zone: The mantle layer between about 410 and 660 kilometers depth, where mineral phases change under pressure. Seismic studies test whether Yellowstone’s upwelling extends through this zone.
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory: A partnership that monitors volcanic, seismic, and hydrothermal activity in the Yellowstone region. Its monitoring record tracks changes above the hotspot’s active volcanic system.
North American Plate: A major tectonic plate carrying most of North America and parts of the Atlantic and Arctic ocean floors. Its southwestward motion over the hotspot helped produce the northeast-trending volcanic track.
Henry's Fork Caldera: A volcanic caldera in eastern Idaho associated with the Mesa Falls Tuff eruption about 1.3 million years ago. Its eruption records a younger stage in the hotspot’s passage beneath the region.
Seismic tomography: A method that uses seismic-wave travel times to image variations inside Earth. Tomographic images are used to infer the shape and depth of the proposed Yellowstone plume.
Yellowstone seismicity: Earthquake activity in and around Yellowstone, including frequent small events and occasional swarms. Earthquakes reveal changing stresses and fluid movement within the volcanic system.
Crustal magma reservoir: A subsurface volume of melt and hot rock that can feed volcanic eruptions. Magma stored in the crust links deep mantle heat to Yellowstone’s surface volcanism.
Yellowstone Caldera: A large volcanic depression in northwestern Wyoming formed by a major eruption about 631,000 years ago. It is the youngest major caldera in the northeastward volcanic sequence.

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