Yellowstone volcano latest: USGS tracks a bubbling hotspot cutting 400 miles across Idaho

According to Idaho Geological Survey geologist Zach Lifton, tectonic movements pushed the hotspot along for 16 million years.

In an article for the USGS’ weekly Caldera Chronicles, the geologist said Yellowstone is an example of a hotspot volcano.

The geologist said: “Volcanic hotspots are fed by plumes of hot material rising from deep in the Earth, which can result in the formation of magma closer to the surface and that might eventually erupt

“As the North American tectonic plate moved southwest through time over the mostly stationary plume, a series of eruptions occurred, forming a hotspot ‘track’.

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