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Kinda related info that I think will interest all punatics -science minded or not.
I just found out that the bi may not hold the record for the largest volcano on earth, which was new info to me check this out: The
Largest Volcano on Earth Lurks Beneath Pacific Ocean(The Tamu Massif was formed about 145 million years ago during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous period[1] over a relatively short period of time (a few million years) and then became extinct.[1] If confirmed, the suggestion that it could be a single volcano[7] in the Shatsky Rise would make it the largest known volcano on Earth, dwarfing the current record-holder, Mauna Loa on the Hawaiian Islands. )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamu_Massif
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Technically, couldn't all of the mountains on the island be considered a "single volcano" due the their origin being from the same hotspot?
"Life is labor, and all that is good in life comes from that labor..."
"Life is labor, and all that is good in life comes from that labor..."
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There is likely a difference between "largest" and "tallest". Either way it really doesn't matter one iota.
Assume the best and ask questions.
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quote:
Originally posted by Delta9r
Technically, couldn't all of the mountains on the island be considered a "single volcano" due the their origin being from the same hotspot?
"Life is labor, and all that is good in life comes from that labor..."
Nope, the hotspot is below the crust and forms a swollen bump, which is more like a reservoir. I think it has done this several times and those reservoirs feed the separate volcanos.
Also has anyone heard of the yosemite super volcano. That is surely the largest volcano on earth it is dormant currently but is due to erupt at anytime. Probably not in our lifetimes but there is a chance it could happen. There have been Nat geo specials about it and everything so you know… be afraid, verrrry afraid!
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob Tucker
There is likely a difference between "largest" and "tallest". Either way it really doesn't matter one iota.
Right Mauna Loa is the largest mountain/volcano by volume and mass. Mauna kea is tallest from ocean floor to the peak.
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The Yellowstone caldera is an interesting region. "Old Faithful" is having prostrate problems in his age, and "fracking" is in Yellowstones backyard in nearby Wyoming badlands. Mt St Helens momentarily lost her cool, reducing pressure somewhere. Hot Springs and thermal pools are warming, as soil temps within the caldera zone. Another science experiment to amaze the geologists and scientists alike, and giving the rest of us the untamed wonder to marvel at.
Are you a human being, or a human doing?
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Yellowstone erupts a huge quantity at one time, but doesn't form a large mountain and has only erupted a few times. So it's hard to call it the "largest volcano" by any way you can measure it.
As for Tamu Massif, it is larger in volume than Mauna Loa (by a lot), but it seems a little questionable whether it's really a single volcano. For one thing, it has three peaks. It also formed at a place where plates were spreading apart, and it would be very common to have multiple volcanos. I don't know enough geology to completely understand the arguments, but it seems that it's uncertain whether it was one or three.
