Yellowstone. Beautiful and breath-taking as it might be, the national park holds an awesome power deep in its underbelly - a power so great that it could cause another Ice Age (no, not the movie). The picture on the right shows the direct blast radius if ever Yellowstone's wrath is unleashed.

See, it's been known that Yellowstone has been sitting on top of a super volcano. And though it has long been revealed that Yellowstone is way past its due date for explosion, recent findings have led some people to believe that the day of reckoning is nigh.

The facts are these: think of a big blob of magma the size of Los Angeles *gulp*. Now think of that blob parking its hot butt (pardon the pun) right under Yellowstone *double gulp*. And then think of that blob rising at an unprecedented rate over the past three years *triple gulp*.

Now, ever since 1923, it's already been noted that the blob's surface is pushing upwards. However, since 2003, it's been rising three times faster than it ever did. And to put it bluntly, the magma has remained about 30 miles beneath the surface of Yellowstone National Park. Now, the gap between the surface and the magma has substantially decreased down to only 6 miles. *quadruple gulp*

There's hope though. Potentially, all this rising action (again, sorry for the blatant pun) could lead to nothing since these "magma blobs" are known to deflate every now and then. As Robert Smith of the University of Utah explains: "There is no evidence of an imminent volcanic eruption or hydrothermal explosion. That's the bottom line. A lot of calderas worldwide go up and down over decades without erupting."

Note: "caldera" is the term used to refer to the massive cavern where these magma blobs reside. Taking from Smith's explanation we can infer this: yes, the magma is rising, but that doesn't automatically count as proof of an super volcano eruption in the near future. Fair 'nuf.

Which is great... Until you realize the fact that the Apophis meteor might hit us by 2029. Kinda like your "good news, bad news" scenario, huh? Gee. All this talk of super volcanoes makes us want to suddenly break out in song... "I'm super, thanks for asking... All things considered, I couldn't be better I must say..."