No Mayan Doom in Yellowstone, Science Continues

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The ancient Mayan calendar has ended without global doom including an eruption of the massive volcano beneath Yellowstone National Park.

That's what happened in a 2009 apocalypse movie called 2012, but if anything Yellowstone's geology has been unusually quiet lately.

Scientists say they are learning more than ever about the Yellowstone volcano. The volcano has had three epic eruptions in the past 2 million years but geologists say there is no strong evidence of any lava flows in the past 70,000 years.

Bob Smith with the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory says a recent upgrade to monitoring equipment should allow scientists to gain a better understanding of what's going on deep beneath Yellowstone.

That includes the ability to tell which small earthquakes are caused by magma flowing deep beneath the ground.