1. Victoria, Raveena, Kenneth & Dimas
Supervolcanoes
What is a supervolcano?
A supervolcano is a volcano that is much more powerful compared to other
volcanoes. It is immensely powerful and causes severe destruction from a local to
global scale.
Where are super volcanoes located?
Supervolcanoes develop on a handful of places around the globe and are located
on destructive plate margins or over parts of the mantle that are really hot, called
hotspots.
Here are
some
examples
of
supervolcanoes around the globe:

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• Yellowstone, USA
• Valley Grande, USA
• Long Valley, USA
• Snowdonia, Wales, UK
• Lake District, England, UK
• Glen Coe, Scotland, UK
• Campi Flegrei, Naples, Italy
• Siberian Traps, Russia
• Whakamaru, New Zealand
• Lake Taupo, New Zealand
• Aira Caldera, Kyushu, Japan
• Lake Toba, North Sumatera, Indonesia
What are the characteristics and key features of a supervolcano?
• it erupts at least 1,000km3 of material.
• it forms a depression called a caldera.
• it often has a ridge of higher land around it.
• it erupts less frequently and eruptions are hundreds of thousands of years apart.
• it forms of convergent plate boundaries.
• it is flat, unlike normal volcanoes.
What are the differences between supervolcanoes and shield/
composite volcanoes?
SIZE SHAPE IMPACT
SHIELD VOLCANO Small, gentle Slopes caused by It is a gentle
eruptions. Does not the runny lava flow. volcano and does
cause much not have many
damage. destructive impacts.
COMPOSITE Large eruptions, Large cone like It has many impacts
VOLCANO depending on the shape, very steep such as it causes
size of the volcano. cliffs. death, destruction of
housing areas and
farmland as well as
affects the country’s
economy.
SUPER VOLCANO It causes a huge It does not have a Massive eruptions
depression in the cone like shape like that could cause
ground called a the other volcanoes, global
caldera, and causes it is barely visible. consequences.
massive eruptions.

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A super volcano has many unique characteristics that sets it apart from
normal volcanoes. It erupts 1000km3 of material, while even the biggest
composite volcanoes can only erupt 1km3 of material. It isn’t a large cone
like shape like regular volcanoes. Instead, it is a huge depression in the
ground which makes it even harder to spot. A supervolcano erupts very
rarely, and eruptions are usually hundreds of thousands of years apart,
while shield and composite volcanoes erupt more frequently.
PRIMARY EFFECTS SECONDARY EFFECTS
Primary effects are the effects Secondary effects are the
which occur immediately after an effects which occur after a
eruption. period of time.
• Death and severe injuries from • Trigger rainfall that would
volcanic ash, gases and potentially cause lahars.
airborne material.
• Reduce sunlight, potentially
• Agriculture and vegetation causing global cooling.
would be destroyed.
• Earth would plunge into a
• Loss of homes. constant winter, which will
affect plants and animals.
• Disruption of air, road and rail
transport. • Disruption of food supplies will
cause mass worldwide
• Buildings may be crushed. starvation.
• Water supplies will be • Cities may become
contaminated. unaccessible due to ash fall.
What
are the
effects of a super volcanic eruption?
If a supervolcano eruption were to occur, there would be devastating
potential effects. Since supervolcanoes are dormant for hundreds of
thousands of years, there is a lot of build up of volcanic gas and magma,
thus creating a ‘super’ eruption that could cause global consequences.

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LOCAL NATIONAL
Environmental: Environmental:
• Landscape destroyed. • Environment becomes polluted due to volcanic
• Crops destroyed. hazards.
• Plants and animals killed. • Country’s agriculture, plant an animal species,
• Heavy pollution decreases quality of life. become damaged, killed, endangered or
extinct.
Social:
• Death or sever injuries. Social:
• Trauma due to loss of family members and • Decrease in population of the community.
friends. • Resources and supplies become harder due to
• Starvation and thirst due to lack of resources. disruption of telecommunication services.
• Exposed to elements due to lack of shelter. • Mass hysteria due to the impending situation.
• Prolonged suffering due to delay of medical • Possible collapse or evacuation of whole or
services. parts of the country.
• Telecommunication, electricity and clean water • Crime, theft and murder skyrocket as the
supply disrupted. situation becomes worse.
Economic: Economic:
• Buildings and infrastructures are damaged or • Country becomes financially unstable.
destroyed. • Government must give compensation for
damage or loss of properties.
• Tourism and trade are disrupted.
GLOBAL • Parts of or whole country obliterated.
Environmental:
• Global cooling due to ash blocking out the sun.
• Very heavy pollution on global scales.
Social:
• Countries or parts of countries obliterated and
abandoned.
• Global food and clean water crisis due to water
polluted by ash, and livestock and plants killed.
• Mass panic as the situation worsens.
• Crime, theft and murder skyrocket.
• Overcrowding of countries that are not so
heavily affected.
• Resource wars among governments.
• Death and injuries on massive scales.
Economic:
• Global economic crisis.

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What are the consequences of a supervolcano eruption?
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is an example of a supervolcano. It was formed because of a volcanic
hotspot.
It is believed to have last erupted 630,000 years ago, and was 1,000 times bigger
than the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980.
The large volume of material from the last eruption caused the ground to
collapse, creating a depression called a caldera.

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There are many features located at Yellowstone, such as hot springs and
the famous geyser, Old Faithful.
An eruption at Yellowstone would cause global consequences and have
many different effects on people all over the world.
Here are a few examples of what would occur if the supervolcano were to
erupt:

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Glossary and Key Terms
• Caldera - A large depression in the ground caused by the collapse of the mouth
of the volcano.
• Fissures - A long and narrow opening in the ground.
• Geothermal - The internal heart of the Earth.
• Geyser - A vent that shoots out hot steam and water.
• Hotspot - A area with volcanic activity.
• VIE scale - A scale that represents the explosiveness of a volcano, the higher the
scale the more explosive the volcano.
• Global cooling - A global decrease on the Earth’s average temperature.

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• Dormant - Temporarily inactive.