How a Supervolcano Made the Cenozoic’s Coolest Fossils

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One of the most dynamic, transformative, and potentially dangerous features in North America is also responsible for some of the continent’s most amazing fossil deposits. It’s a supervolcano we now call Yellowstone.
Thanks to Rick Otto and the Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park for their help with this episode!
Produced for PBS Digital Studios.
Super special thanks to the following Patreon patrons for helping make Eons possible:
Katie Fichtner, Aldo Espinosa Zúñiga, Kelby Reid, Steph Summerfield, Todd Dittman, Betsy Radley, Svetlana Pylaeva, Colin Sylvester, Philip Slingerland, John Vanek, Jose Garcia, Noah offitzer, Eric Vonk, Tony Wamsley, Henrik Peteri, Jonathan Wright, Wilco Verweij, Jon Monteiro, James Bording, Brad Nicholls, Miles Chaston, Michael McClellan, Elysha Nygård, Jeff Graham, Maria Humphrey, Nathan Paskett, Connor Jensen, Ehit Dinesh Agarwal, Sapjes, Daisuke Goto, Zachary Winkler, Hubert Rady, Yuntao Zhou, Gregory Kintz, Tyson Cleary, Chandler Bass, Maly Lor, Joao Ascensao, Tsee Lee, Sarah Fritts, Ruben Winter, Ron Harvey Jr, Joshua Mitchell, Johnny Li, Jacob Gerke, Katie M Vasilescu, Brandon Burke, Alex Yan
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References:
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.c...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.c...
volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/...
www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fil...
peerj.com/articles/4880/
journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...
www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
link.springer.com/article/10....
pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/...
www.frontiersin.org/articles/...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
volcano.oregonstate.edu/columb...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/...
Mustoe, George. “Washington’s Fossil Forests.” 2001
www.dnr.wa.gov/Publications/ge...

[@Trustworthy_McLegitimate]

"Unlike you people, I have no illusion as to my usefulness in an actual apocalypse. The most I can hope for is to die in a pose that confuses future archaeologists." - Yahtzee Croshaw

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Bury me with some elephant tusks!

[@TheGryfonclaw]

That's how I want to go

[@galvaton10000]

A man of culture, I see

[@cosplaymemories1487]

When in doubt, blurry yourself with the most massive 'enlargement' you can find.... like nonhumanly not right. Add horns or other as well. XD Too much? Or you could get large wings and make people think humans had wings at one point confusing many as to why only one did.

[@christophereeles]

With an iPhone in one hand and a Neolithic flint arrowhead in the other. Maybe some moon rock betwixt my teeth.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

Discovery of the Yellowstone supervolcano was pretty much "With all these geysers and stuff, you'd expect there to be a caldera, but I don't see one." :looks up at the ring of mountains surrounding the park: "Holy [expletives deleted], the entire park is the caldera. We're boned when it blows again."

[@richardhaselwood9478]

I think I was told about in an igneous petrology lecture, that they didn't comprehend how big it was until someone looked at, either air photos, or possibly, satellite images. Well, Ig pet, or a Bill Bryson book......

[@jedimindtricks7589]

Scary to think Yellowstone isn't even the biggest. Yellowstone isn't the only active supervolcano (Most famous yes, but not biggest). US has another 2 supervolcanoes; Long valley and Valles caldera's with Long valley being the most active, more active than Yellowstone. Not to count the ones outside of the US; Plenty of supervolcanoes in Southern america, Taupo in NZ, Toba in Indonesia, Campi Flegrei in Italy.

[@Karle94]

Toba, Taupo and Yellowstone are the only three doomsday supervolcanoes. The others will do some tremendous damage, but only those three will end civilization and life as we know it.

[@jedimindtricks7589]

Not really end civilization, although Toba eruption came close, it didn't end the human race, neither will Yellowstone or Taupo. Will it be a mass-extinction event? Depends on how large the eruption will be, but if it will be comparable to the last eruptions then millions upon millions will die but it won't wipe us out. Yellowstone and Toba heaviest eruptions have released some 2500 and 2800 cubic km of volume (Magma, ash etcetera). But let's say IF they erupt on the same scale as the La Garita Caldera did, 27 million years ago (5000 cubic km of ash, debris, magma) then we will be very close to extinction, except those who survive underground or are living in the right area, either way all these events and even smaller will bring climate changes which many humans can't cope with. US and EU will most likely turn into ice while the deserts will have a milder climate (less heat, more rain)

[@Karle94]

I didn't refer to the total extinction of all life. But, civilization as we know it would end, as the immediate effects would last so long and the damage done would take such a long time to repair that when all is said and done, we're back to atleast the mid-late 1800s. It would be more like a nuclear war, without all the radiation.

[@marlok232]

The bit where she mentioned her undergrad internship was really cute, passionate folks are the best

[@alexandercanella4479]

Agreed. She pulled off the humble brag, correctly.

[@dinosaurusrex1482]

@@JosephKulik2016 we all cope with panic diffrently

[@Dylanschillin]

@@JosephKulik2016 humans aren't going to go extinct because of it, when it erupts, it's only ever covered most of north America, you could be fine if you lived in maine or Canadian maritimes Chill bud, the Eurasians, kiwis, hawaiians, south Americans, Africans and Australians are gonna be there to study our future testicles of stone

[@satsat247]

@@Dylanschillin but it will cause a volcanic winter for hundreds to thousands of years, it may cause a human population bottleneck and extinctions

[@Dylanschillin]

@@satsat247 you're safe if you're in the eastern hemisphere or south America

[@lonci2244]

her: do that worry it only happens every 600-700 thousand years me: :) her: the last one was 640 thousand years ago me: :D

[@neonlights8012]

We got a couple thousand. It’ll be okay

[@whiskeybravo9936]

@@neonlights8012 It could be tomorrow, or 100k years from now. I am not concerned.

[@kellywolstenholme8134]

Whiskey Bravo Likely not tomorrow; there will be warning signs when it's about to happen. But whenever it does… we screwed

[@titanusghidrah6867]

Ilona Janser me: ITS NOT FAST ENOUGH

[@ryuukatamura]

great for fossil preservation, not so great if you don't want to be a fossil yet

[@aaleven4728]

"Unless you're Chris Pratt, in which case you're somehow just fine." lmao

[@TctyaDDKhang]

Which, realistically, should turn Chris Pratt into Crisp Rat. :v

[@pamcn123]

Yeah, I didn't get this reference. I looked up Chris Pratt and still couldn't figure it out. Can someone please explain the joke?

[@nvrumi]

I thought it was funny, too! Her delivery was perfect!

[@KinshipCadet]

@@pamcn123 You'll have to watch _Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom_ for that.

[@JoJoJet100]

pamcn123 in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, there's a really dumb scene where Chris Pratt's character survives a volcano eruption through sheer force of will.

[@tfranc347]

"and as anyone who has played 'the floor is lava' will know" I still bear the scars on my feet decades later lol

[@citiesskyscrapers4561]

This channel is one of the best on KZbin!

[@nathanboolin1081]

Cities & Skyscrapers agreed

[@stevenbaumann8692]

Cities & Skyscrapers it’s definitely up there.

[@TheColemancreek]

I have been viewing youtube since it's inception. Only fairly recently I found this channel and PBS Space Time. They are without a doubt my 2 favorite channels, and have provided countless hours of informative entertainment. My dreams of becoming a paleontologist didn't come true, so I live vicariously thru Kallie.

[@caliberlight2818]

True indeed

[@aldlkj]

Steeev

[@aaronpemberton8960]

I actually just got done with an internship at Ashfall fossil beds this summer. Its such a cool place to work. The preservation at the site is so good that we are now finding fossilized tracks from the dogs that would have been scavenging on the carcasses there. It's so great that you guys were able to make a video about this site.

[@FlintSparkedStudios]

Sounds pretty dangerous. We should take that supervolcano, and push it somewhere else.

[@razorransom1795]

Heh, it does that one it's own over time, you know hot spots move as the tetonic plates move away from the hot spots/mantle plumes or if the plume's die off and reform somewhere else.

[@Jacob-yg7lz]

That't what they tried last time, they only got as far as South Dakota.

[@annoyed707]

Just build a wall and make the subterraneans pay for it.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Just sink the entire continent, that way it's like Hawaii, and makes a chain of islands instead of big explosions with local extinction.

[@TheQueenofNeckbeards]

didnt you watch the video? obviously we have to push north america over yellowstone dummy

[@warrengleeson4572]

"and... Steve?" Brilliant.

[@richardenglish4563]

Yeah, there has to be a funny story about just "Steve"!

[@EJFreelancer]

I just discovered this channel a couple days ago; I’m so happy you guys covered Ashfalls! I grew up within a couple hours of the site, and I still go back every few years to check up on the rhino barn.

[@joeys4289]

Are you guys at PBSEONS tired of me profusely complimenting you? Cause there is no end in sight, this channel is the best thing on youtube, you make hard to explain subjects fun to watch which is no small feat. #PBSEONSISLOVE

[@eons]

No, don't stop! Thank you and #DodoBirdIsLoveToo! (BdeP)

[@tedsell1455]

Agreed thanks great work , love this channel !

[@WouldntULikeToKnow.]

At first I thought you said complaining instead of complimenting. I was gonna have to throw hands 😆😅

[@joehaschke1163]

This is perfect! I was planning on taking my daughter, who loves this channel by the way, to Ashfall Fossil Beds this weekend. She'll love seeing that you did a video over something so close to home.

[@imnotfromhere]

Honestly, KZbin needs a ❤️ button! Thumbs-up just doesn't cut it for channels like yours.

[@xl000]

double like

[@razorransom1795]

Agreed

[@yuchenjin444]

There needs to be a double subscribe button too!

[@LivingParadox87]

The more of these videos I watch, the more I want to renew my childhood dream of becoming a paleontologist. Absolutely fascinating and very well produced. Thank you!

[@jonathanhiguita2568]

They couldve made this 10 mins but they didnt... They deserve any revenue they can get!

[@LeBronKK]

When I learn about space, I feel unbelievable small. When I learn about geologic time scale of just our earth and numbers like "500 MILLION" are thrown around, I feel small. It's almost terrifying and haunting to think about.

[@ElfriedeRose]

At ashfall there's a path that encircle the fossil beds. Its pretty long. thats how long life has been on earth. At the beginning of the path is a red line about three inches wide. Thats how long humans have been on earth.

[@HoraceTheClown]

embrace that feeling, grab hold of it, stare it in the face, use it

[@stefanr8232]

R. K. Vis, You could look at is as security. Animals have been roaming around for millions of years. The odds that everything ends next week must be pretty low.

[@InvaderGIR98]

"Unless you're Chris Pratt, in which case you somehow turn out just fine." SHOTS FIRED.

[@STNG17-]

Yellowstone: "Next, humans!"

[@queercowboah8574]

Needs to hurry up. 😂

[@graphite2786]

Amazing video and quite horrific how the ash affected their health. Can you do a video about the Great Azolla Event? I've just found out about this and it absolutely blew my mind how one tiny little plant changed the climate!

[@MaureenLycaon]

Oh, wow, I forgot about that one! Also seconded! Although it wasn't the only reason the Earth went from greenhouse to icehouse.

[@seandraco3797]

Cyanobacteria, trees and, humans, oh my! Just a few life lifeforms to cause extinctions. Where's ET? Probably getting extinguished before it shapes a stone or the net cost of technological intelligence is such a gamble it's the biological lottery. We're the only hominid standing, millions of years a dozen attempts and we almost died out, ourselves! It took civilization/tribal society to limit human predation for crying out loud.

[@Platyfurmany]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gobRoXuXrZ54raM

[@graphite2786]

@@Platyfurmany Thank you so much for the link ! Nice video ( but I'd really like to see what eons could do with the subject too)

[@Platyfurmany]

I agree with you on that! I would too.

[@shelleysteva2251]

I have seen Ashfall Fossil Beds. It was amazing - and sad. As the mothers died their babies were still trying to nurse. You could see the entire rhino skeleton as well. Highly recommended

[@guyh.4553]

Thanks for highlighting the Yellowstone Hotspot as well as the whole Pacific Northwest basalt flows and fossilization record. This period and events are often overlooked. Great video as usual!

[@rainydaylady6596]

My life goal to be a fossil. 😵😇😊

[@jakeg3126]

Life goal should be to find your fossilized body

[@Keenakeen]

The you will be put up in a museum and seen by hundreds of people all over the world.

[@amphibiousone7972]

Immortal in a way. Okay😂

[@rainydaylady6596]

@@Keenakeen Great incentive to get into shape. Lol

[@nolanwestrich2602]

I'm going to move to Wyoming, so when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts future geologists can find a really well preserved fossil of me to put in a museum.

[@enriquevigo1746]

Animal: dies horribly in a way that preserves it Paleontologist: YES!!

[@jcortese3300]

Another wonderful video. I could watch a four hour long one, seriously.

[@argh523]

These are called "documentaries"

[@ryanvess6162]

@@argh523 no one had your back bro I got you with the like, that was gold

[@jcortese3300]

argh523 Yes -- I'd love it if Eons did one. :-)

[@Mizra-dq3lj]

This channel is awesome, greetings from Mexico!

[@mrbrainbob5320]

@theRogueCovfefe wrong despacito 3 pewdiepie version

[@razorransom1795]

How's the volcnoes down there doing?

[@markmeredith1228]

This is, by far, my favorite channel on all of KZbin. Thank you!

[@dibaldgyfm9933]

This is one of the best EON because you show a clip of you working on a fossil. Hope that makes you feel better ❤

[@CottonCandySharks]

This is so cool! I went to Ashfall, but didn't get nearly as much as I did from this video. It was really sad when you explained how they died, I didn't actually think about how horrible it must have been.

[@Platymapuss]

Your channel is the best on KZbin! I get so excited whenever I get a notification of a new video. Maybe you could possibly do a video about insect metamorphosis? I don't know how well evidence like that could be preserved in fossil form but I find it very fascinating. Or blood, the evolution of blood would be fantastic.

[@manafestation]

8:36 I worked for Yellowstone NP and they have displays that explain the different eruptions, and after I did the math and realized we were close to another eruption, I had vivid nightmares of running from lava for a few weeks lol

[@zacks3035]

You're truly an excellent story teller. Lots of detail, comprehensive and yet very clear. Good pacing and pauses. Your passion shows. I think you may be the best KZbinr I've seen (Sorry to the other Eons hosts. They're great, but you are excellent).

[@Alex-kp5pq]

The Toba Catastrophe (which DID happen, we just don't know if it caused all the extinctions we attribute to it) made the Yellowstone Supervolcano look like a large balloon popping. That thing killed a third of the life off of entire islands- some of them impressive in size-, and is sometimes attributed to many more extinctions. That, and we would've been able to see it from beyond the moon. That was one really, really big geological burp.

[@jedimindtricks7589]

Toba is becoming more active, and although bigger and more destructive than Yellowstone even this one is a firecracker compared to La Garita caldera, that one is 'extinct' though but who knows....the earth is always moving. People have their eyes too much on Yellowstone but don't forget South America has plenty of supervolcanoes as well in the andes volcanic zones with one's uplift even faster than Long Valley or Yellowstone.

[@justinbiggs1005]

@@jedimindtricks7589 and all supervolcanoes arr mere firecrackers compared to large igneous provinces like the Siberian traps. During the Permian-triassic extinction the Siberian traps erupted with over 4 million cubic kilometers of material. Leading to the extinction of 95% of all life on the planet. Though it was mostly titanic amounts of effusive magma there were numerous explosive eruptions embedded within the province. Perhaps even a supervolcano or 2. The good news is these large igneous province eruptions are very very rare. And with their immense size the upwelling mantle plume or superplume depending on the size of the province wouldn't erupt without warning. Some scientists believe the whole region would have begun to bulge upward a very little bit. As with your normal volcanoes there would be earthquakes and gas release. I'm pretty sure that it would be impossible to assume a region half the size of the us spewing gases and undergoing earthquake swarms would be benign. Lol

[@justinbiggs1005]

@@jedimindtricks7589 sorry for the utter essay by the way. I have a tendency to talk a whole bunch when it comes to science.

[@razorransom1795]

True but don't forget, yellowstone's mantle plume I think got bigger, look at that's size, Yellowstone is just fed by one of it's tails but that tail is pretty big, toba maybe a head plume fed. But if some of the rumors going around is true, that hot spot maybe bigger than what is shown. Though there is still Campaii Fregeri and Calli Albani in the contender ring as well.

[@razorransom1795]

@@justinbiggs1005 there was one in South America that may have beaten the Siberian traps, but dont forget coral mass ejections occur with the Earth's core as well, aka besides asteroids and metors, how Africa has most of it's diamonds and precious minerals. Just like how those volcanoes are how west us has it's gold and other precious metal veins too.

[@nab-rk4ob]

That was amazing! I didn't know any of that. This is the stuff they should have taught in school. I might have paid attention.

[@stevenschnepp576]

They were. You just weren't paying attention.

[@lauralynnasteriahathaway6819]

Steven Schnepp I'm pretty sure that how the yellowstone volcano preserved fossils is not taught in US highschool. You could call me an obsessive learner, and a lot of this video was new to me. There is some truth to nab 6215's comment. History basically boils down to rote memorizing of dates and events that will leave most peoples brains the day after the test. This rote memorization makes history a very boring subject for a lot of people. Like, who really needs to know what day it was when George Washington won the Revolutionary war, or when Caesar crossed the Rubicon? The important thing is to know it happened and how it influenced history.

[@latebreakfast8911]

I love your sense of humor! So subtle it strikes when you least expect it.

[@emadamini1991]

Super fantastic as always. Thanks a lot Eons

[@josephgrant1151]

Love her voice and her narration. Great video!

[@pisse3000]

The audio design in this series is just off the charts

[@bencorey8315]

This might be my favorite episode yet!

[@CannonRanger-1]

As a park ranger (and a patreon patron) it's always nice to see highlights of places where I have friends working. I love this channel! Keep up the good work!

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

Cannon Ranger 😖 And a self publicist. . . !

[@CannonRanger-1]

@@sirmeowthelibrarycat I admit pride is a sin kitty cat. So is envy. Be polite please.

[@vincentdice5663]

Fascinating and cool. I'm so in love with channel. Hey, can someone explore the significance of the oldest mountain range; the Appalachian Mountains (about 480mya)? I live in the Blue Ridge section near Pittsburgh and enjoy exploring the Pennsylvanian fossil beds when I can sneak into a quarry, but I've found no well-produced youtube vids on their history despite being significant from the Paleozoic to Mesozoic. I'm a Geology fan first but I'm just as interested in the early amphibian life that wondered through the future coal forests. Anything about this would be soooooooooooooooooooo appreciated. Thank you for such great content.

[@shuyuei6448]

I absolutely love this channel,it never fails to intrigue and amaze me ,keep up the great work ^^

[@SusiBiker]

I love these videos. I also love that there is a Bobcat (or similar) parked on the slope at the back of the dig building. Having been on a dig in my (now distant) youth, I remember the incredible amount of rock and dirt that had to be removed and carefully sifted through. I so wish we'd had a Bobcat back then! :)

[@maxdereme]

Awesome video! Learned a lot, so thanks! I'd love to see video describing some paleontological topic concerning bivalves (or seashells in general)!

[@danstiver9135]

You can never have enough digs at the paleontological inaccuracy of the Jurassic Park films.

[@danstiver9135]

I said the films, not the books. The Jurassic Word movies perpetuate the featherless dinosaur misconception.

[@Matt-uv2yg]

@@danstiver9135 Which as far as I know is no longer really a misconception. New research suggests that many dinosaurs were, in fact, featherless.

[@darth856]

@@Matt-uv2yg but not velociraptors or deinonychus.

[@sterkar99]

A video about what major animal migrations have happened between Eurasia and the Americas? Like horses and camels for example

[@peanutbuttersquid6124]

They recently made one about horses

[@Goldenrod6901]

My brother and I were talking about thr eventual eruption of Yellowstone and he suggested that we should just add more soil on top to keep it from erupting... after a short argument about it we ended in a visual demonstration of a fire cracker under some sand. Honestly the most entertaining win I've ever had.

[@ThunderMuffinMan]

Wow! Intense, engaging, coherent, and unobtrusive music! It perfectly suits the narrative. Great work everyone!

[@guardyangel]

This host is amazing. Its awesome to learn from her.

[@nishantkamat7492]

A new Eons video. This day is blessed.

[@arijitkundu5577]

A superb one from you again. Thanks.

[@Guydude777]

And these are the reasons why I love my country. Great video!

[@MLM6175]

Vid idea: Evolution of blood?

[@iainhansen1047]

Matt that would be interesting

[@dronefpvandreview6331]

Just look it up.

[@Dcey-cy2wc]

Evolution of Blood, Thats a cracking idea.

[@floweringsilverzero]

Probably out of the purview of this channel. I'd love a collaboration with a phlylogenetics expert (not sure if this is the correct term, whoever would study the evolutionary history of organisms through present-day genetics) but everyone that works here is a paleontologist. I would think blood does not really fossilize, and paleogenetic material is almost certainly nonexistent from when blood first evolved. Come to think of it I would love a channel devoted entirely to phylogentics and paleobiology but it would probably be much, much more technical than this channel.

[@amphibiousone7972]

WOW Veiwers of this channel are full of great ideas. That would be an awesome exploration. 👍👍

[@MrLeafeater]

I wanna be an ash fossil! You folks make everything fun!

[@rimmipeepsicles1870]

Well too bad you didn't live 74,000 ya, cause, you know, Toba.

[@sarcasticllama3312]

With my luck if probably be preserved in the shitter

[@Scraggledust]

Thanks for continuing to share the knowledge ❤❤❤❤

[@ryanvess6162]

I watch enough of these that I always find the new ones in my feed. So much so that I just realized I wasn't even subscribed...but now I am

[@Coelacantha]

I love this channel, I haven’t missed one episode yet!😅

[@somerandomguy1416]

Evolution Of Blood please

[@bluebowser3121]

interesting because i dont understand how there is different blood types and why/where they came from

[@GreatOrigins]

Blue Bowser Scishow did a video about this kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqXNn2Sgi6Z2oZo

[@somerandomguy1416]

Thanks Stephan still would like to see Eons make a video about it tho😂

[@graphite2786]

I do believe that they did that today!

[@danielchouinard4119]

The short documentaries broadcast on Eon are very interesting. In a short time you got the essential on the topic presented. The narrators keep your attention and the animation included give the right complementary information to fully understand the subject explained. These documentaries are as good as those produced by the BBC. The pronunciation and the elocution speed of all the narators make the English language easily understandable by most non native English speaker. It"s a real gift! It would be just great if they were available in some other languages. Their quality could then be appreciated by many other people. Their global quality is so impressive that they could be used in high school as they are to make students more interested in science and make relalized them that life is precious and the time scale of geological era! "Merci beaucoup" for this great educational material.

[@IuliusPsicofactum]

This was one of your best videos, right there.

[@precumming]

Uh-oh you've tempted 2020 saying that we have a few thousand years

[@Paleoroi]

Y love your videos. Greetings from Spain! (By the way I’m a PhD in Geology and your videos are beautifuly well done and documented). Your work is just amazing.

[@makaveli2tt]

Always a good listen. Thanks

[@NATOSAH2]

I love this presenter.. She’s passionate about the topic and that makes it enjoyable to watch. Plus, tattoos..

[@michaelbeholder]

Perfect as usual! Thank you SO much for the never ending education

[@thecreature7608]

I just hope yellowstone erupts after my lifetime🙁 Great subject matter as always. Love this channel. Possible topics: evolution of parasites, probably the group of organisms I like the least. Gorgonopsids and other animals of that time. Ophabina and anomolocaris, two utterly blizzard creatures I love. Evolution of photosynthesis. That would be interesting

[@thecreature7608]

@Jurassic 123 but wouldn't the ash that is thrown up into the atmosphere cause crops to fail all over? Seeing as I live in a country without all that much land to grow crops on, that doesn't bode well.

[@tanostrelok2323]

Do you wanna play Fallout IRL so badly?, lol

[@captainhoratiobungleiii7147]

Yes to parasites, no to living through a super volcano eruption. I enjoy the summer too much to live through several years without one. Not to mention the trauma and famine!

[@tanostrelok2323]

No summer would be the best thing of the eruption, hopefully moskitos go extict because of it.

[@MaureenLycaon]

Mosquitoes have survived every other eruption, so I doubt they'll all die off in that one.

[@RBB-lb1zd]

I’m so envious! I’ve always wanted to see the archaeological site. I did a presentation about this but never had the chance to see it.

[@edgarjimenez2690]

That was hilarious and enlightening and scary. Keep up the great straight laced humor !

[@klmueller8575]

Fascinating! I just subscribed.

[@achannel9024]

How come they don’t have 1 Million Subscribers Yet...

[@achannel9024]

brian george ehhh good point

[@brenmoyer4896]

They are super new, but doing great! They will be there in no time :)

[@wormbot]

as always; amazing video, and great music!

[@TheSaneHatter]

Boy, do I remember *this* story! When I was a tiny little kid, back in the late 1970's, the very first issue of "National Geographic" that I ever saw, had an article about this eruption; it was also the first time I'd ever heard of Nebraska, at that age!

[@tyrred]

Kallie you're the best... You make me feel so comforted that maybe I'll become fossilized one day soon.

[@karlos_marxican-godless-co1712]

Is it just me, or do the hosts say "Steve" like they fell for a prank the editors play on them when thanking the eontologists?? 😂😂

[@hugobustillos5114]

Awesome! I did not have idea you took part in such a research study. Congrats!

[@Sgt-Gravy]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I am unable to travel or walk much due to my disability. This gives me much wanted information about my "neck of the woods" so to speak... Bless the work you do! Great job.

[@brianmessemer2973]

Dear PBS Eons: You're awesome. All of you. Awesome. The end.

[@emersoncastle1674]

Does anyone else think that a moving super volcano is awesome

[@dann2513]

As stated in the video: the volcano itself is not moving. The continental crust of North America is moving to the west which makes the lava plume associated with Yellowstone appears to be moving to the east. For example: Hawai'i. The volcano that forms the islands is stationary while the Pacific crust is moving west. This creates the chain of islands.

[@andykane439]

India is another example

[@razorransom1795]

@@dann2513 yup

[@dinojay8410]

That's what Hawaii is ... though not sure about it being a supervolcano ... it is a hotspot and as the crust has moved, new volcanic islands are formed.

[@snowlynx1585]

Umm the volcano never moved, it was America which moved over it

[@harrietharlow9929]

Bruneau-Jarbidge really did a number on animal life. Dying from Marie's disease is long, drawn out and very painful.

[@andreashenry8100]

These videos really make me want to get into paleontology and anthropology, History is fascinating and the further back you go the. better it gets

[@Felixkeeg]

People watching this meanwhile: *Stockpiling food and water intensifies*

[@Roboprogs]

Felixkeeg and dust masks, hah

[@AscheDjidoi]

Imagine being able to purchase and store extra food in this economy.

[@OoogaBoog]

milk and bread. First thing to go from the stores before bad weather! lol. Never understood that.

[@jokerace8227]

Not much point here. This town called Rexburg will be buried under hundreds of feet of ash. All roofs will crush in after the first ten feet. Ultra Pompeii.

[@gibrantrejo3258]

Prophet

[@iainhansen1047]

Yellow stone is the actual scariest thing on the planet.

[@tanostrelok2323]

Probably because it can nuke America and there's nothing they can do about it. I would be worried if I lived there.

[@linnlevenstam5490]

@rpazders oh interesting could you please name a few, I would like to read about some.

[@markfourtwenty9897]

Wrong....its H U M A N S Although they can technically exist even if the sun goes nova...

[@dvendddo7454]

@rpazders they should do videos about evolutionary and planetary impact of supervolcano eruption I think that would be great educational video material

[@tanostrelok2323]

It also has to do that it is the most famous of them, how many videos about Yellowstone do you see compared to the Toba or that other one in can't remember if Australia or New Zealand?

[@brendarua01]

Very nice! You tied things up nicely at the end.

[@seahorse5689]

Love this channel--keep the fab content coming!

[@Sondergarden]

Would love to learn about elephant evolution

[@CloudsGirl7]

Great, you just made me feel bad for those poor animals. Death by volcano and volcano by-products SUCKS. On the other hand, I'm glad to get to hear about this interesting volcano (migrating volcano... fascinating!)... Even if it makes me more alarmed from hearing about the new earthquakes and fissures at Yellowstone. P.S.: Would love to hear more about other volcanoes, too.

[@Dragrath1]

Most Hotspot volcanoes wander around the only exception seems to be Iceland as it overlaps with the Mid Atlantic Ridge. Yellowstone is the youngest of these plume type events but there are quite a few other ones mostly under the ocean. The Hawaiian Hotspot, The Galapagos Hotspot, The Iceland Hostspot, and the Reunion Hotspot are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. If your interested I suggest looking up Mantle Plume Theory as there are some interesting implications if true particularly with respect to the possible origin of Flood Basalts the Reunion Hotspot can be traced back 66 Million Years ago to the famous Deccan Traps and Yellowstone deposited the planets most recent Large Igneous Province when it first appeared the Columbia River Basalt. It seems quite interesting that all Hotspots with exception of the Hawaiian seem to have an associated LIP. (The Hawaiian chain does trace back to an active subduction zone so perhaps it once did trace to one that has now been recycled :P ) Its an interesting developing area of research worth looking into ;)

[@smashbrother8696]

If it makes you feel any better, the USGS thinks that it's much more likely that Yellowstone would erupt with a more normal eruption than in a "super-eruption", and even then it's not terribly likely any time soon

[@CloudsGirl7]

@@smashbrother8696 Oh, absolutely - I know how unlikely it is that there'll be a super-eruption. Just more than a wee bit unnerving.

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

CloudsGirl7 😖 You refer to ‘migrating volcanoes’ . . . Take another look at the video and you will not find any mention of such events. The land mass moves through the action of tectonic plates, which are powered by the pressure of magma from the Earth’s core.

[@CloudsGirl7]

@@sirmeowthelibrarycat Thanks so much for not thinking I'm stupid. Of course I know it's the crust, the tectonic plates, that move. I was just expressing amazement at the concept of a *figuratively* migrating volcano, something that, though I have known for years, I hardly ever think about, and therefore take for granted. So sorry for not wording my comment the way you wanted.

[@Samwaltzer1997]

Binge watched all of the episodes the past few days, best content out there. A vid about some influential recent discoveries in paleontology would be really interesting.

[@MBroam]

I love this channel so much, it's one of the best science channels out there. :D

[@smoothvirus]

my biology teacher did his undergraduate work at that site as well

[@veggieboyultimate]

So I guess a hotspot in the water would look like the Hawaiian islands and a hotspot in land is this. Also can you do a video on the recently extinct animals?

[@mikeblair2594]

Nice picture of the painted hills, and she even says Oregon right. I think I'm in love.

[@carriertaiyo2694]

The end made me laugh so hard... This was one of the best PBS Eons episodes ever xD

[@wascraft3573]

I have been educated 🙏🏽

[@bup489]

How did this get into the smash bingo playlist?

[@youlooksusd6429]

Idk I came from that also

[@bup489]

@@youlooksusd6429 noce

[@bup489]

@Zack 1 ok ty

[@dull_demon4717]

Im now addicted to this channel even though the videos i get recommended are at least 2 years old

[@matvinnels42]

Love this! Keep up the great work!!!

[@Googledeservestodie]

Evolution of the chicken from a dinosaur to a dinner

[@brenmoyer4896]

Chickens are not dinner. Rude.

[@Canal10000]

Its okay to be Smart just made a video about that

[@SupLuiKir]

Rhino > This is fine probably

[@belizeguy]

Heck of a show . Thanks !

[@BillHimmel]

Your explaining is great!