A Volcanic Eruption in Colorado? It’s More Likely Than You Think

The thought of lava emerging out of the ground within Colorado might initially seem like a case of pure fantasy. Yet, the prospect of a volcanic eruption within the state is more likely than you think. As, Colorado contains a single active volcano, with this volcano last erupting a little over 4,000 years ago. This video discusses the Dotsero volcano, and the eruption sequence which formed it.

Thumbnail Photo Credit: (cropped, overlaid with text, overlaid with GeologyHub made graphics (the image border and the GeologyHub logo), frame grab from a video at 0m13s in the linked video by) Extreme Pursuit, Channel link:    / extremepursuit  , Video link:    • Spectacular eruption of Anak Krakatau, Ind...  , Used with Permission.

Note: This video's thumbnail image shows what a vulcanian explosion may have looked like during a portion of Dotsero's eruption in 2150 BCE. Specifically, during the ash rich phase after the maar formed. This image does not display the current status of the Dotsero volcano.

A special thanks to Keaton Terry for granting me permission to use his photos and videos of Colorado's Dotsero volcano.

A special thanks to the Extreme Pursuit YouTube channel for granting me permission to use clips of his footage!
Video Sources from the Extreme Pursuit YouTube channel:
[1]    • Volcan de Fuego, Guatemala Erupts  
[2]    • Dangerously close to a volcano erupting  
[3]    • Spectacular eruption of Anak Krakatau, Ind...  

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Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers

This video is protected under "fair use". If you see an image and/or video which is your own in this video, and/or think my discussion of a scientific paper (and/or discussion/mentioning of the data/information within a scientific paper) does not fall under the fair use doctrine, and wish for it to be censored or removed, contact me by email at [email protected] and I will make the necessary changes.

Various licenses used in sections of this video (not the entire video, this video as a whole does not completely fall under one of these licenses) and/or in this video's thumbnail image:
Public Domain: https://creativecommons.org/publicdom...

Sources/Citations:
[1] U.S. Geological Survey

For further reading, here are two USGS pages on this volcano:
This link goes to the brief summary the USGS has on the Dotsero volcano: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/dotser...
This paper links to the 2018 USGS volcano hazard assessment, where Dotsero is listed as a "moderate theat" volcano: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2018/5140/s...

0:00 A Volcanic Eruption in Colorado
0:21 The Dotsero Volcano
2:05 The Lava Flow
3:11 A Maar Forms
4:17 A Nearby Volcanic Cone