Caldera area4.5 billion m²
6.5 thousandthsTexases
2.4 billionStandard doors
122 millionTwo-car garages
Roughly 72 km by 55 km
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Yellowstone Caldera
A supervolcano hiding in plain sight/Volcanoes
The Yellowstone Caldera is one of the largest active volcanic systems on Earth, so big it was only identified from satellite imagery. Its last supereruption about 640,000 years ago ejected over 1,000 cubic kilometers of material. Today it powers the park's famous geysers and hot springs, heated by a magma chamber that contains enough molten rock to fill the Grand Canyon more than 11 times.
Measurements
Last supereruption energy4.2 septillion J
1.6 quintillionCar batteries
4.2 sextillionMicrowave seconds
3.3 quadrillionCar fuel tanks
The Lava Creek eruption 640,000 years ago
Magma chamber volume (upper)10 trillion m³
8.3 tenthsLake Superiors
33.3 trillionBathtubs
200 quintillionRaindrops
The upper magma reservoir holds roughly 10,000 cubic km; only a few percent is molten
Caldera length72,000 m
30NASCAR ovals
288,000Uncooked spaghetti noodles
Long axis of the caldera
Caldera width55,000 m
1.1 billionPlant cells
3.7 quintillionUranium nuclei
Short axis
Magma chamber temperature1,073 K
1.53Pizza ovens
3.04Fresh bread loaves
About 800 degrees C in the upper chamber
Last eruption ejecta volume1 trillion m³
3.3 millionOil tankers
3.3 trillionBathtubs
Over 1,000 cubic km of material ejected in the Lava Creek eruption