Earth Science
2008/2009
EARTHQUAKES in YELLOWSTONE
A Web Quest
Introduction –You and some friends are talking over dinner and the recent earthquakes in
Yellowstone come up. Your friends argue that it is extremely dangerous to live near or in Yellowstone
because of the active geologic processes. All this talk made you curious: Since you are not familiar with
Yellowstone’s seismic history – you want to find out what causes these earthquakes and whether it is
really so dangerous to live there. Your friends agree that you are in a great position to answer these
questions because you are currently taking an Earth Science class. You promise to have a report to them
within 2 days that summarizes your research on Yellowstone and answers the question whether it is
really too dangerous to live there.
Task - Working in groups of three or four, divide up the task of investigating Yellowstone. You'll be
given a few minutes to do this division of labor, and you can touch base with each other periodically.
After approximately one hour, you'll come back into your groups and teach each other what you know.
As a group, you'll then work on a report to give to your friends which answers the following questions:
Questions - Here are the questions, your friends had for you before you left the dinner:
1. Where is Yellowstone located? What is Yellowstone? What is so peculiar about Yellowstone?
2. What is a Caldera? How big is the Caldera? How is it formed? When did it form? Did Yellowstone
ever erupt? What consequences would it have for North America if Yellowstone erupted
tomorrow – climate, animals, plants, people – how will they be affected?
3. What are the tectonic forces that created this volcano? Which tectonic plates are involved?
4. In his article “Ten Risky Places”, the author cites California and Washington State. Why? How
does the article relate to Yellowstone?
5. What are the types of volcanoes found on earth? Which type is Yellowstone?
6. Looking at the planet Mars – are there volcanoes? If yes, how tall or high are they? Are they still
active? How did they form? How old are they?
7. Are there earthquakes on Mars? If yes, what causes them? Does Mars have tectonic plates?
How many?
8. Why are there earthquakes in Yellowstone? How do earthquakes happen?
9. Has there been a time in recent history where earthquakes were as frequent as they are right
now? What was the magnitude of those “old” earthquakes? What is the magnitude of the
current earthquakes?
10. Is it risky to live close or in Yellowstone? Should a public service announcement be written to
warn people about the dangers of Yellowstone?
Resources - The following resources are available to help you answer the questions:
1. Your Earth Science textbook – chapter 8 and 9
2. Volcano World gives you an overview of Plate Tectonics and types of Volcanoes
Instructor: H. Paulsen
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Earth Science
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2008/2009
The article “Ten Risky Places” by Mark Monmonier
The USGS website: volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo and http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/types.html
Yellowstone Web page: www.nps.gov/yell/
Yellowstone for Kids: www.nationalgeographic.com/yellowstone/index.html
On-line newspaper article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/30/yellowstoneearthquake-sw_n_154197.html
Website on Yellowstone Caldera: vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Yellowstone/framework.html
Hazards of Volcanoes: volcanoes.usgs.gov/hazards/
NASA’s web site with pictures of Martian volcanoes
Info on volcanoes on Mars and Washington State
Report – Your group will be generating ONE report as a Google Doc – this allows you to work on the
report at the same time and then share the document for revision. EVERYONE in the group must answer
at least TWO questions. Please use the following organizer as a template for your report – include
diagrams, maps and pictures to make the report more interesting.
Result – The reports will be posted on the 6th grade Science web page
Have fun finding the answers to your Yellowstone Quest!
Instructor: H. Paulsen
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