Ejected Volume Comparison (km³)
Selected Super-Event
Wah Wah Springs
Utah, North America (~30.06 Ma)
Ejected Magma Volume
5,900 km³
> 50x Yellowstone Huckleberry Ridge
Explosivity Index / Class
VEI 8 (Mega-Colossal)
Explosive Caldera Collapse
Comparative Scale
59,000x
Mt. St. Helens 1980 equivalent (~0.1 km³)
| Event / Volcano | Location | Age / Date | Type | Volume (km³) | VEI |
|---|
Geological Distinction Note: Geologists differentiate between explosive pyroclastic super-eruptions (Wah Wah Springs, La Garita, Toba, Yellowstone) where vast calderas collapse in single or short multi-stage catastrophic blasts, versus Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) / Flood Basalts (Siberian Traps, Deccan Traps) which ooze millions of cubic kilometers over 1–2 million years, driving prolonged planetary mass extinctions.