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upstart [soylentnews.org] writes in with an IRC submission:

from-the-big-one-is-coming-isn't-it? dept.

Insights into the Yellowstone hotspot [sciencedaily.com]:

The origin and sustained longevity of the hotspot is less understood but is focused on two competing models, where the ascent of hot mantle is derived from either a deep-seated mantle plume or a shallow mantle source.

In their study published this month in GSA Today, Vic Camp and Ray Wells use an integrated database that supports the idea of a deep mantle-plume origin for the Yellowstone hotspot with a robust history of magmatism that extends to at least 56 million years ago, far older than previously thought. In this scenario, hotspot volcanism began offshore and migrated to the east-northeast across northeastern California, northern Nevada, southeastern Oregon, and southern Idaho to its current position at Yellowstone National Park.

This long-lived path of hotspot migration is marked by a belt of aligned volcanic provinces that display progressively younger ages to the east-northeast, similar to the age progression produced by southwest motion of the North America plate over a fixed Yellowstone hotspot.

Journal Reference:
GSA Today, (DOI: 10.1130/GSATG477A.1 [doi.org])

Original Submission