Yellowstone hotspot

Yellowstone hotspot

Schematic of the hotspot and the Yellowstone Caldera
Past locations of the hotspot in millions of years
Country	United States
State	Idaho/Wyoming
Region	Rocky Mountains
Coordinates	44°26′N 110°40′W / 44.43°N 110.67°W / 44.43; -110.67

The Yellowstone hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the United States responsible for large scale volcanism in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Wyoming, formed as the North American tectonic plate moved over it. It formed the eastern Snake River Plain through a succession of caldera-forming eruptions. The resulting calderas include the Island Park Caldera, Henry's Fork Caldera, and the Bruneau-Jarbidge caldera. The hotspot currently lies under the Yellowstone Caldera.^[1] The hotspot's most recent caldera-forming supereruption, known as the Lava Creek Eruption, took place 640,000 years ago and created the Lava Creek Tuff, and the most recent Yellowstone Caldera. The Yellowstone hotspot is one of a few volcanic hotspots underlying the North American tectonic plate; another example is the Anahim hotspot.