Huge magma chamber found beneath Yellowstone

Scientists have spied a vast reservoir of hot, partly molten rock beneath the supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park that’s big enough to fill the Grand Canyon 11 times over.

The newly discovered magma chamber – located 12 to 28 miles underground – is four times bigger than the previously known chamber above it, according to imaging by researchers at the University of Utah.

The discovery fills a missing link in Yellowstone’s volcanic plumbing system.

But scientists said it doesn’t increase the risk of an eruption, which is estimated to happen every 700,000 years. Yellowstone is among the world’s largest supervolcanoes.