Comparison of the three ash-flow tuffs of the Yellowstone Group and resulting calderas
Caldera-forming ash-flow tuff | Age (millions of years) | Volume erupted (km3) | Area covered (km2) | Caldera dimensions (km) | Caldera name |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lava Creek Tuff | - 0.640 | 1,000 | 7,500 | 85 x 45 | Yellowstone caldera |
Mesa Falls Tuff | -1.3 | 280 | 2,700 | 16 km in diameter | Henry's Fork caldera |
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff | -2.1 | 2,450 | 15,500 | 75-95 x 40-601 | Big Bend Ridge, Snake River, and Red Mountains caldera segments |
Rim of the Yellowstone caldera (the youngest caldera)
Aerial view of the striking NW rim of the Yellowstone caldera and intracaldera rhyolite lava flows at Madison Junction in Yellowstone National Park. View is looking north. The steep-facing caldera wall, 500 m tall, formed when the area in the foreground collapsed during eruption of the Lava Creek Tuff 640,000 years ago. The thick West Yellowstone rhyolite lava flow erupted about 110,000 years ago, and the Nez Perce Creek flow erupted 160,000 years ago.
These views of faults outside the caldera rim illustrate that faults related to regional tectonic stresses can be associated with caldera collapse along a zone of concentric ring faults. Click on images for a description and larger-sized images.