Supervolcanoes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Their eruptions are large and catastrophic

There isn't a scientific definition for a supervolcano, however, the generally accepted definition is a volcano that ejects over 1,000 cubic kilometers of magma. To put it in perspective, the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens was only 1 cubic kilometer.

Answer: Caldera

Volcanoes are formed when magma (liquid rock from under the earth's surface) erupts from the mountain and eventually cools and solidifies on the mountain itself. However, there is so much pressure during a catastrophic supervolcanic eruption that too much magma is ejected to form a mountain. The land then collapses and forms a caldera (a cauldron-like shape).

Answer: Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone is probably the most well known supervolcano. Under Yellowstone National Park (located in the Rocky Mountains of the United States) is a caldera that is about 55 by 75 kilometers wide. The high temperature of the magma chamber in the caldera heats the rocks near the earth's surface. This heat causes the ground water to be near boiling point which in turn is the source of the steam and water for Old Faithful and other such geysers.

Note: Mount St. Helens is a normal volcano. Lake Superior and Banff National Park aren't volcanic areas.

Answer: Lake Toba

Toba was one of the world's largest known eruptions, ejecting over 2,500 cubic kilometers of magma. The caldera that was created is 30 by 100 kilometers and is located under a lake.

Answer: Lava flow eruption

Scientists believe that the odds of a catastrophic eruption are extremely rare in the coming thousands of years. The chance of a smaller eruption is also rare (there are about 100 every million years), however, more probable than a catastrophic, caldera-forming one.

Answer: No

To alleviate such pressure, the volcano would have to be drilled into. This would not only be extremely dangerous and expensive but it wouldn't work. The hole that's drilled would only be filled in by the minerals in the volcano. As well, it would be very difficult to drill through magma.

Answer: Ash would blanket areas around the supervolcano

A catastrophic eruption of a supervolcano that causes a caldera to form occurs rarely: once or twice every million years. Thus, the likelihood of that event occurring is extremely slim and so if a supervolcano were to erupt, it would likely just be a 'normal' eruption.

After a caldera-forming eruption, the average global temperature would decrease. It might decrease enough to bring on a small ice age. This, as well as other factors such as the sun being blocked out by ash, would threatened the existence of plants and animals around the world. However, this is rare during a normal volcanic eruption. Out of these four events, the only one that would occur during a normal eruption is ash covering the surrounding area.

Answer: Lake Toba

As well, the eruption caused the average temperature of the earth to drop by 3 - 4 degrees Celsius (up to 15 degrees Celsius in more northern regions). This theory is called the Toba Catastrophe Theory.

Answer: No

There are only six known supervolcanoes. Three are in the United States (Yellowstone, Long Valley, and Valley Grande), one in New Zealand (Lake Taupo), one in Indonesia (Lake Toba), and one in Asia (Siberian Traps). There is a seventh caldera that may be a supervolcano. It is called Aira Caldera, located in Japan.

Answer: Horizon

The term seems to have first been mentioned in the 1940s by the American scientist F. M. Byers jr., but it was the Horizon program which made it popular.