July 2014– MONTANA – Deep in America’s northwest, there lies a supervolcano that, if erupted, has the potential to wipe out the majority of the United States. What is a supervolcano exactly? I think the name says it all, but officially, scientists define it as a volcano capable of an eruption thousands of times greater than any ordinary volcanic explosion. These supervolcanoes burst when a growing pressure of molten rock, or magma, rises up from the Earth’s mantle. When the crust can’t contain the buildup anymore — boom. In historic times, we luckily haven’t experienced a supervolcano explosion. The most recent eruption occurred 27,000 years ago in New Zealand. But, mankind isn’t out of the woods yet. Deep below Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming lies a supervolcano that is very much alive.

A volcanic winter: A massive underground chamber filled with magma sits miles below the surface in America’s…