Lurking deep below the surface in California and Wyoming are two hibernating volcanoes of almost unimaginable fury. Were they to go critical, they would blanket the western U.S. with many centimeters of ash in a matter of hours. Between them, they have done so at least four times in the past two million years. Similar supervolcanoes smolder underneath Indonesia and New Zealand.

A supervolcano eruption packs the devastating force of a small asteroid colliding with the earth and occurs 10 times more often--making such an explosion one of the most dramatic natural catastrophes humanity should expect to undergo. Beyond causing immediate destruction from scalding ash flows, active supervolcanoes spew gases that severely disrupt global climate for years afterward.

This article was originally published with the title The Secrets of Supervolcanoes.

11 Comments

1. 1. R.M. de Jonge 05:35 PM 1/27/09

   
   CATASTROPHES IN HUMAN HISTORY
   (Revised List from 3200 BC to 550 AD)
   
   Dr. R.M. de Jonge ?, drsrmdejonge@hotmail.com
   January, 2009
   
   3201 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe
   Pre-Dynastic Period
   (96 years before the start of 1st Dynasty)
   Duration: 70 days
   Nature: forest-fires, rains, floodings, cold
   EP c.40,000 men
   c.3,000 casualties in Egypt (7.5%)
   Casualties were only counted in Egypt.
   
   3006 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe
   1st Dynasty, 5th King Den-Udimu (c.3012-2992 BC)
   Duration: 11 days
   Nature: rains, floodings
   EP c.100 thousand men
   c.2,600 casualties in Egypt (2.6%)
   Casualties were only counted in Egypt.
   
   c.2742 BC Worldwide Volcano Catastrophe
   3rd Dynasty, 2nd king Djoser (c.2753-2723 BC)
   Ibusuki Volcanic Field, Kyushu, Japan / Cotopaxi Volcano, Equador / Volcano Piton de la Fournaise, R鵮ion, western Indian Ocean
   Duration: 7 years of famine
   Nature: dimming Sun, cold, drought, crop failure, famine
   EP c.210 thousand men
   c.9,000 casualties in Egypt (4.3%)
   As far as known casualties were only counted in Egypt.
   
   2344 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe
   6th Dynasty, 1st King Teti (c.2370-2338 BC)
   Biblical Flood
   Duration: 2+2= 4 months [2 months Earth in tail of Comet (dark), 2 months after it (cold)]
   Nature: forest-fires, torrential rains, floodings, cold
   WP c.4.8 million
   Casualties: c.2.6 million people (54%)
   (Ended 5th Dynasty, later also Old Kingdom; ended all civilizations on Earth)
   Low temperatures and drought for centuries
   (well documented)
   
   c.2020 BC Worldwide Volcano Catastrophe
   11th Dynasty, 5th king Mentuhotep II (c.2026-2014 BC)
   Volcano of Long Island, NE of New Guinea / Volcano of Changbaishan, Eastern China / Volcano of Liamuiga, West Indies
   Duration: 4 years of famine
   Nature: dimming Sun, cold, drought, crop failure, famine
   WP c.3.5 million
   Casualties: c.90 thousand men (2.6%)
   
   1899 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe
   12th Dynasty, 4th king Sesostris II (1905-1886 BC)
   Duration: 11 days
   Nature: forest-fires, rains, and floodings
   WP c.4.2 million men
   Casualties: c.260 thousand men (6.2%)
   
   1628 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe
   Second Intermediate Period
   Start 15th Dynasty (ended 14th Dynasty)
   Deucalion Flood
   Duration: 9-10 days
   Nature: forest-fires, rains, floodings
   WP c.5.6 million men
   Casualties: c.510 thousand people (9.1%)
   Low temperatures and drought for at least a century
   
   c.1370 BC Worldwide Volcano Catastrophe
   18th Dynasty (New Kingdom), 9th king Amenhotep III (c.1388-1351 BC)
   Santorini Volcano on Thera (Greece), Pago Volcano, New Britain Island
   Duration: 50 days dimming of Sun, 2 years dust in the air, 7 years of famine
   Nature: three phases on Thera, dimming Sun, cold, drought, crop failure, famine
   WP c.12 million
   Casualties: c.950 thousand men (7.9%)
   
   1159 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe (tree-ring dating*)
   20th Dynasty, King Ramses IV (c.1163-1156 BC)
   Dardanus Flood
   (ended New Kingdom, and several other civilizations)
   Duration: 80 days
   Nature: forest-fires, torrential rains, floodings, cold
   WP c.18 million men
   Casualties: c.5.8 million people (c.32%).
   Low temperatures and drought for centuries
   
   430 BC Worldwide Catastrophe (a.o. tree-ring dating*)
   Dynasty 27, king Artaxerxes I (465-424 BC)
   Duration: 13 days
   Nature: forest fires, rains, and floodings ?
   WP c.35 million men
   Casualties: c.830 thousand men (2.4%)
   
   207 BC Worldwide Comet Catastrophe (tree-ring dating*)
   Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-204 BC)
   Duration: 8 days
   Nature: forest-fires, rains, floodings
   WP c.38 million men
   Casualties: c.530 thousand men (1.4%)
   
   44 BC Worldwide Comet / Volcano Catastrophe (tree-ring dating*)
   Ptolemy XV Caesarion (44-30 BC)
   Ambrym Volcano, Vanuatu (New Hebrides) / Etna Volcano, Sicily, Italy / #
   Duration: 5 days / 2 months, 2 years
   Nature: forest-fires, rains, floodings / dust, cold, drought, crop failure, famine
   WP c.40 million men
   Casualties: c.240 thousand people (0.60%)
   
   235 AD Worldwide Volcano Catastrophe (tree-ring dating*)
   Taupo Volcano, North Island, New Zealand / #
   Emperor Maximinus (235238 AD)
   Duration: 45 days, 1 year of famine
   Nature: dust, cold, drought, crop failure, famine
   WP c.46 million men
   Casualties: c.280 thousand men (0.61%)
   
   472 AD Worldwide Volcano Catastrophe
   End of the Western Roman Empire
   Last Four Emperors
   Vesuvius Volcano, Italy / Ilopango Volcano, El Salvador / #
   Duration: 2 months, 2 years of crop failure
   Nature: dust, cold, drought, crop failure, famine
   WP c.51 million men
   Casualties: c.250 thousand men (0.49%)
   
   536 AD Worldwide Volcano Catastrophe
   Eruption of the Krakatau Volcano, Indonesia (535-6 AD)
   Eruption of the Rabaul Volcano, New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea (540 AD)
   Two stage event, 536 AD and 540 AD (a.o. tree-ring dating)
   535 AD, two explosions, 4 days of rains and floodings
   536 AD, 3 months severe dust, 18 months dust
   Nature: sunlight dimmed, dust, drought, cold, crop failure, famine
   WP c.53 million men
   Casualties: c.2.9 million people (5.5%)
   Most casualties in 9 year period (536-544 AD)
   
   Sincerely yours,
   Reinoud de Jonge
   Email: drsrmdejonge@hotmail.com
   The Netherlands, January 2009
   
   P.S.
   Sources of data: Monuments and Petroglyphs all over the World (Archaeology)
   * Tree-ring data: a.o. M. Baillie
   - Ice core samples
   # possibly a dry comet
   This List may contain errors. The subject is difficult!
   
   I am the main author of the books:
   De Jonge, R.M., and IJzereef, G.F., De Stenen Spreken, Kosmos Z & K, Utrecht/Antwerpen, 1996 (ISBN 90-215-2846-0) (Dutch) (192 pgs.)
   De Jonge, R.M., and Wakefield, J.S., How the SunGod Reached America c.2500 BC, A Guide to Megalithic Sites, 2002 (ISBN 0-917054-19-9) (384 pgs.). Available: MCS Inc., Box 3392, Kirkland, Wa 98083-3392, USA, also on CD
   
   
   

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2. 2. dsvmgeek 02:37 PM 4/2/12

   Human kind has gone through so many natural disasters it isn't even funny. I'm surprised that we still have a numerous population today.

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3. 3. Ebundy 02:39 PM 4/2/12

   Kind of scary actually. I'm never going to live in California or Wyoming! :( poor Calrifornian and Wyomingans (not sure if that's actually what they are called but I hope so :P)

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4. 4. dsvmgeek 02:39 PM 4/2/12

   I've also heard that there is a super volcano over in yellow stone national park just waiting to explode. When it finally does, it will kill almost every living thing that gets in its way. I'm going to move to a different country when I find out when it is going to erupt.

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5. 5. dsvmgeek in reply to Ebundy 02:40 PM 4/2/12

   And no Ebundy i'm not a retard. :)

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6. 6. Ebundy in reply to dsvmgeek 02:41 PM 4/2/12

   I think you meant 'plentiful population today' not 'numerous' haha:) it's okay though:) But I see what your saying and I know right! It's kind of sad:'(

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7. 7. dsvmgeek in reply to Ebundy 02:42 PM 4/2/12

   It is sad. :(

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8. 8. Ebundy in reply to dsvmgeek 02:43 PM 4/2/12

   You're not!!!

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9. 9. Ebundy in reply to dsvmgeek 02:45 PM 4/2/12

   That's um...nice. I get you though. I thought that the volcano there wasn't supposed to explodein our lifetime, right? I don't exactly remember, though.

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10. 10. Duncpowerful 02:57 PM 4/2/12

    Yeah as dsvmgeek <3, sorry any way as she and or he said, yes there is a supervolcano it is yellowstone. It is located in Wyoming and there is another neighboring state of California just waiting to blow up. P.S. if any of you didn't know especially Erin Bundy Hawaii is a supervolcano too technically.

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11. 11. Duncpowerful 09:29 PM 4/2/12

    No Erin actually we don't know when it is going to explode but we do know it can happen any time, at any second. What we do know is that there is a very high chance that within the next 1000 years it is bound to erupt. Sadly killing most of the side of the world. We do have a bunker in Europe somewhere that is filled with seeds from all over the world so that if something like this happened then we can replant.

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