What is the Jackson Volcano’s impact on Mississippi?

JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) — Jackson is unique among capital cities, and its volcano is a big reason why.

According to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the volcano sits roughly 2,900 feet below the state’s capital city. Ground zero is roughly around the Mississippi Coliseum, blocks away from the state capitol, governor’s mansion and state supreme court. No other capital city or major population center is known to be situated above an extinct volcano.

Though residents do not have to realistically worry about lava spewing out on High Street, its impact on residents is still felt today.

About the Jackson Volcano

The volcano was last thought to be active 75 million years ago. That eruption led to the formation of the Jackson Dome, which encompasses the volcano and surrounding formations across the metro.

These formations led to the increased height of certain parts of Jackson, including LeFleur’s Bluff and Belhaven. The heightened landscape was instrumental in Jackson’s selection as Mississippi’s current capital city.

Thermal energy and gas released from the Jackson Dome were once cultivated for natural gas and sulfur extractions. Many of these gases also helped to create aquifers and other gaseous deposits in the surrounding Jackson metropolitan area. From Copiah, Madison, Warren and Rankin counties, the Jackson Dome stretches across the metro.

Volcanoes in Mississippi

The Jackson Volcano is one of two volcanoes in the state. The other is located in southern Humphreys County. An oil company in 1939 tried to find oil in Midnight, Mississippi, but instead found volcanic rock. The Midnight Volcano is situated under the Mississippi Delta.

The dense igneous rock below the Jackson and Midnight volcanoes increases the force of gravity slightly. In other words, a person above either volcano would weigh slightly more than they would anywhere in the state.

Will the Jackson volcano ever erupt again?

MDEQ experts assert that no affirmative evidence proves that an eruption will, or will not, happen again. It would be possible to know, however, if an impending eruption is set to happen. Telltale signs of an incoming eruption include harmonic tremors, rising ground elevations, elevated groundwater temperatures and trees killed by elevated carbon dioxide levels.

MDEQ experts, however, claim a volcanic eruption occurring in a Jacksonian’s lifetime is very unlikely .

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