Movie Assignment: Yellowstone
Name ________________________
1.
What state does Yellowstone Park primarily cover? __________________
2.
What other two states does the park encompass?
____________________________________
3.
The geologic history of the park goes back to the formation of the North
American continent. According to geologist, how old are these rocks?
______________________
4.
How often does the ‘Old Faithful’ geyser erupt, and how many gallons of
scalding hot water is emitting up into the air?
How often? ______________
5.
How many gallons? _____________
Does ‘Old Faithful’ show that the rocks below the surface are very hot?
__________
6.
Can boulders be ejected up into the air from the geysers? _________
7.
Is the Yellowstone Lake which formed approximately 13,000 years ago
quiet?
_________
8.
If not, how do geologists know that it is very active?
_____________________________________________________________
9.
Samples from hot spring pools of water show that certain mixtures of
gases are present. What are they?
_____________________________________________________________
10.
Is Yellowstone powered by the heat of a volcano? _________
11.
If so, what evidence is found at the hot springs that could be evidence for
a volcano?
_____________________________________________________________
12.
Are there any obvious volcano domes displayed above ground at
Yellowstone? _________
13.
What clues are available that a violent eruption took place a very long
time ago?
a.
_______________________
b.
____________________
c.
_______________________
d.
____________________
Unusual thin layers of black rock are visible on a cliff face within the park.
These thin layers contain pumice and rock fragments. Under polarized light
(thin section), geologists have discovered compressed glass shards.
14.
What type of glass is this black mineral called? ______________________
15.
How did this black volcanic material make it as far away as 50 miles from
the source of the eruption?
_____________________________________________________________
16.
Was this eruption considered to be a small or super volcanic flow?
_________________________________
17.
Can volcanic material such as ash from an eruption at Yellowstone make it
as far west as California? __________
18.
If yes, what evidence is available for this remarkable discovery?
_____________________________________________________________
19.
How many times larger could a volcano eruption at Yellowstone Park be
in comparison to the 1980 Mount St. Helen’s eruption?
__________________
There is evidence that a supervolcano at Yellowstone erupted millions of years
ago; however, geologists are not able to find the volcano dome. The
Yellowstone topography appears soft and smooth across the country side with
rolling hills.
20.
Why is there no rough topography of the large crater?
_____________________________________________________________
21.
Evidence shows that a supervolcano erupted approximately 100,000 years
ago. Did the eruption occur with less explosive and more fluid like lava
flows or explosive ones?
_____________________________________________________________
22.
Yellowstone reveals that thousands of years ago there was glacial activity.
What evidence or clues on the rocks are there to support this proposal?
_____________________________________________________________
23.
Are there earthquakes occurring at Yellowstone? If so, how many have
their previously been per day at the park?
______________
24.
How many are presently occurring at the park? ___________
25.
What type of volcanic structure is supplying the magma chamber with hot
molten magma?
________________________
26.
This ‘sleeping monster’ is evidence for hot spots deep within the Earth’s
crust. Are these hot spots traveling in an almost circular motion, or is the
North America continent traveling?
_____________________________________________________________
27.
Do scientists believe that another supervolcano eruption can occur within
the next 10,000 years? Could it happen today or tomorrow? _________
Geologists have determined that a supervolcano eruption has occurred about
every 600,000 years, and the last one occurred approximately 640,000 years
ago.
28.
What signs are showing now that an eruption could take place soon?
These signs would be general things to look for in a ‘soon to be very
active’ volcano.
A.
______________________________________________
B.
______________________________________________
C.
______________________________________________