Earthquakes vs. Volcanoes: Which is More Powerful?

When the Yellowstone Caldera decides to pop, a winner in the destruction derby may become self evident. A global killer, from which there will be no escape.

I just hope that I'm long gone when it does, cause it ain't gonna be pretty.

The last one was wimpy compared to what the next one could be like.

Easy Peazy: The one you are standing by/on is the most destructive! Next question.

Ash bed from last Yellowstone eruption.

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Lava flow area of the Siberian Traps around the time of the Permian-Jurassic extinction event, aka, The Great Dying, when 90% of Earth's species became extinct.

The Siberian Traps supervolcano released so much CO₂ and H₂S into the atmosphere that it caused the world's oceans to become acidified to the point that it killed off most marine life. Some of the species that did survive took as long as 30 million years to recover.

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Volcanoes win, hands down.

Im on vacation that week........I pass on the blast

Earthquakes have a far more localised effect so Volcanoes will be the winner any time.

No tough call, just logic!

are you sure?

Very local event!

I admit the shaker recently in US could have gone out more dramatically. It might even have had a global impact on society.

I was rather thinking Krakatoa and Eyjafjallajökull which had a more widespread effect and was more noteable for the global community.

Wait for Bárðarbunga. Its coming soon!

It depends on its magnitude and location

"Which is more powerful?"

Powerful how? They never say and therein lies the rub.

If 'powerful' is in terms of destruction in all its forms, volcanoes win hands down. Volcanoes inject ash and gases into the atmosphere which can take millennia to dissipate, whereas earthquakes are localised events and short-lived. Earthquakes can also trigger tsunamis of course, but the destructive effects of these are limited to particular coastlines and are also relatively short-lived. Volcanoes are far more destructive in about every way imaginable and for much longer.

The Permian-Triassic extinction event 251 million years ago is closely tied to the eruption of the Siberian Traps supervolcano. It took vertebrates thirty million years to recover from that event. The destruction caused by the volcano - which erupted for over a million years - nearly killed off all life on Earth. No earthquake even comes close to staking that claim.

And what if the volcanoe eruptions goes alongside with an earthquake?

We have seen that before, havent we? Fred has one just up there which is like this!

The earthquake is still localised to the region around the volcano, whereas the Siberian Traps injected so much CO₂ and H₂S into the atmosphere that it acidified the oceans - all of them - killing off most marine life. However, methane-producing bacteria in the oceans thrived under the conditions and produced so much methane - a potent 'greenhouse gas' - that it caused global warming in the extreme. At its peak the temperature of Earth's equatorial waters rose to around 106° F.

what if the volcanoe eruptions goes alongside with an earthquake?

You mean an earthcanoe? or volcaquake?

If under water would it be an earthcanami?

Or volcanomi?

Depends on which one you're experiencing at the time.

And how far did the tectonic plate that Japan sits on move in the last quake?

I am going to have to go with the earthquake when it comes to "released energy".

As far as destructive to life in general, human endeavors etc. I guess it would depend on the size of the volcano.

Last I checked, the recent death toll, wide spread devastation etc.(last 100 years or so) would go to the earthquake and related tidal events.

Earthquake hit areas may be rebuilt but volcano can change landscape and destroy civilisations. if tsunami is accompanied by earthquake even small continent might disappear & new island might form.

Volcano's can create also.

Godzirra more powerful than both!

We'll get an idea when the San Andreas Fault lets go--All the way to Cresent City, from, south of Palm Springs--That is not localized…But, being further away from major urban areas, the resulting damage may not be as devastating as a smaller, more violent shake, like the Northridge quake, in Los Angeles, 1994. The "Force " though, would be great..