As if Death Valley wasn't dangerous enough... geologists discover that one of its volcanoes is due to go off

Death Valley in California has plenty of hazards, ranging from searing temperatures to flash floods, rock falls, rattlesnakes and scorpions.

Now geologists say that one of its volcanoes is actually far younger and more active than previously thought and is due to go off, because it last exploded in 1200 and has an eruption cycle of 1,000 years or less.

A team based at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory found that the half-mile-wide Ubehebe Crater, formed by a prehistoric volcanic explosion, was created just 800 years ago – and not 6,000 years ago as previously estimated.

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