Evacuate Wyoming!?

[ImAHobbit]

Last time Yellowstone 'popped' it was big-supposedly the next time it will be beyond catastrophic. There's a prominent mountain near Cody/Powell that is a piece of rock from inside the crater of the Yellowstone Volcano over 50 miles away. THE MOUNTAIN IS UPSIDE-DOWN!

Check out Heart Mountain:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Mountain_(Wyoming)

[HighlandLady]

I remember visiting with a Geologist while hiking about the Sundance area - specifically, Inyan Kara. Sundance Mountain was thought to be magmatic and Inyan Kara is a mountain within a mountain. Curious designs courtesy of Madame Nature!

[ImAHobbit]

There's a whole string of volcanos around here. Sundance mountain and Green Mountain (Both on the SO side of town) are volcanic domes. Devil's Tower is the lava tube left from an old volcano and the Missouri Buttes (directly NE of Devils tower) are also volcanic.

Inyan Kara is cool, after the initial boom blew out the whole center of the mountain, a new mountain formed up the center. Green mountain is similar, although most people don't realize it. The outer dome has been pushed open from inside by a new dome, but the outer shell still remains, like an orange that has been peeled. Satellite images really show it.

[HighlandLady]

I had forgotten about Green Mountain, thank you.

[R_Cowgirl]

For those who want to track such things -- here's the Yellowstone Volcano link:
Yellowstone Recent Status Report, Updates, and Information Releases

And while you're at it, here's the Alaska Volcano Observatory:
Alaska Volcano Observatory - Redoubt - Activity Page

and for more vulcan knowledge, Here's the official site of Madam Pele in Hawaii:
HVO Kilauea Status Page

Fascinating to go visit the volcano in Hawaii if you want a sense of it all. There you can actually watch the magma flowing. One night we went down to the water on the Big Island of Hawaii and watched Madam Pele's work. That night the red plume of smoke was spectacular. Lava was flowing, but not like in the movies. It was flowing and cooling at the same time. There was a light rain and we could see what looked almost like cars coming the mountain backwards. Spots of red, but not a continuous line. I felt like I was standing at the moment of creation. Mother Nature is indeed awe-inspiring. Gives one a sense of perspective...