Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
Anyone who has spent time in Long Valley, California, this past year, may have noticed a shift in the Hot Creek springs and pools.
The creek has, visitors say, taken on a more malign bubbling in recent months -a new hot water feature even popping up on the shore of the creek.
For many, it was a sign that the ancient volcano was preparing to blow.
But this is not the case, according to the California Volcano Observatory, and more a result of winter's dramatic snowfall, much of which melted from the highlands around the caldera, filling it deep enough below the surface for it to eventually regurgitate.
While the caldera may be safe for now, scientists have in the past warned that other signs throughout Long Valley hint that an eruption may well be around the corner.
Long Valley sits next to Mammoth Mountain and is one of the world's largest calderas - a huge, cauldron-like hollow that forms after an eruption.
It measures a whopping 20 miles long and 11 miles wide, and is up to 3,000 feet deep, and was originally formed 760,000 years ago when a devastating eruption released hot ash that later cooled and formed the Bishop tuff.