Yellowstone Isn't About To Explode, According To Scientists

According to the National Park Service, the Yellowstone supervolcano is not about to erupt, and animals are not fleeing because of it despite claims from many online commentators.

The video below and ones similar to it “show” buffalo galloping down a road out of Yellowstone because claims that the Yellowstone supervolcano is going to explode has been making the media rounds and gaining attention on YouTube. Much of Yellowstone National Park actually sits on this massive caldera, or collapsed expanse of land caused by a volcanic eruption. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago.

The Yellowstone supervolcano eruption doomsday scenario rarely makes it out of the deep confines of the Internet, but Yellowstone did recently experience a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on March 31. That and the video of bison running along the road convinced many that the Yellowstone supervolcano was ready to blow the U.S. into a full-blown apocalypse.

Luckily, Yellowstone public affairs chief Al Nash took to YouTube to dispel the rumors. He says the bison are moving because of the harsh winter weather inside the park. They’re migrating out of the park to find food and calmer weather, and the animals do this every year.

As Nash explains, the 4.8 magnitude earthquake was the strongest in Yellowstone in 30 years, but its nothing to be concerned about. Many Yellowstone neighbors didn't even feel the quake.

Meanwhile, the Yellowstone supervolcano is not due for an eruption, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. The Observatory explicitly explained in February that the recent earthquake and ground deformations do not pose “direct volcanic hazards, nor do they imply that an eruption is pending."

Watch Nash’s “Rumor Control” video below: