Yellowstone volcano, located in Yellowstone National Park has erupted three times in history – 2.1 million years ago, 1.2 million years ago and 640,000 years ago.
Scientists have previously revealed that should an earthquake occur, it could take less than two weeks before a catastrophic reaction event occurs with the potential to wipe out three-quarters of the US. Now, experts fear another eruption could be around the corner.
Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics in the City College of New York claimed another big blow is overdue.
Speaking during new YouTube mini-documentary “Yellowstone Supervolcano Will Destroy America”, Dr Kaku made a shocking claim.
He said: “We are due – forget Yogi Bear, forget Old Faithful – it is sitting on top a sleeping giant.
“If you are sleeping next to an 800lb gorilla, you monitor every burp and every snore.
“When it blows, it could destroy the United States as we know it.”
Dr Kaku revealed the ground where the volcano is situated has swollen 10in in the past year.
“This tells us there is activity in the supervolcano which erupts roughly every 600,000 years.
“And the last eruption was 640,000 years ago, that is why we are very nervous.
“The cycle time corresponds to now, so every tremor, burp or murmur has to be watched very carefully.”
The last eruption of Yellowstone produced around 2,500 times more volcanic material than the 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens.
Jacob Lowenstern, a researcher with the US Geological Survey in Vancouver, Washington, previously detailed how the last catastrophic incident may have played out.
He said: “Typically when these eruptions begin, they begin from a certain event, then they get larger as they move along the fracture system.
“The entire sequence that formed the last Yellowstone eruption may have taken as little as two weeks.”
This created an eruptive column so colossal that it covered about 60 per cent of the US in a thick layer of ash.
Should the same happen again, the ground around Yellowstone National Park would rise upwards forming a swarm of earthquakes.
Then, following the eruption, enormous pyroclastic flows would blast their way across the park.
This mixture of ash, lava and superheated gas exceed temperatures of 1,000C and can move at speeds of up to 300mph.
They are predicted to spread more than 100 miles out from Yellowstone, burying states like Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Colorado in three feet of life-extinguishing volcanic ash.