<P> Volcanism at Yellowstone is relatively recent , with calderas that were created during large eruptions that took place 2.1 million , 1.3 million , and 630,000 years ago . The calderas lie over a hotspot where light , hot , magma ( molten rock ) from the mantle rises toward the surface . While the Yellowstone hotspot is now under the Yellowstone Plateau , it did help to create the eastern Snake River Plain ( to the west of Yellowstone ) through a series of huge volcanic eruptions . The hotspot appears to move across terrain in the east - northeast direction , but in fact the hotspot is much deeper than terrain and remains stationary while the North American Plate moves west - southwest over it . </P>
<P> Volcanism at Yellowstone is relatively recent , with calderas that were created during large eruptions that took place 2.1 million , 1.3 million , and 630,000 years ago . The calderas lie over a hotspot where light , hot , magma ( molten rock ) from the mantle rises toward the surface . While the Yellowstone hotspot is now under the Yellowstone Plateau , it did help to create the eastern Snake River Plain ( to the west of Yellowstone ) through a series of huge volcanic eruptions . The hotspot appears to move across terrain in the east - northeast direction , but in fact the hotspot is much deeper than terrain and remains stationary while the North American Plate moves west - southwest over it . </P>
the yellowstone supervolcano is an example of which kind of volcanism
the yellowstone supervolcano is an example of which kind of volcanism
hotspot
hotspot