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Volcano Hazards Program

Find U.S. Volcano

There are about 170 potentially active volcanoes in the U.S. The mission of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program is to enhance public safety and minimize social and economic disruption from volcanic unrest and eruption through our National Volcano Early Warning System. We deliver forecasts, warnings, and information about volcano hazards based on a scientific understanding of volcanic behavior.

News

Photo and Video Chronology — November 25, 2024 — Visiting the September 2024 Kīlauea eruption site

Photo and Video Chronology — November 25, 2024 — Visiting the September 2024 Kīlauea eruption site

Volcano Watch — How have eruptions shaped Hawaii? Volcano Awareness Month 2025, with a twist

Volcano Watch — How have eruptions shaped Hawaii? Volcano Awareness Month 2025, with a twist

Volcano Watch — What sounds the (automated) alarms at HVO?

Volcano Watch — What sounds the (automated) alarms at HVO?

Publications

Cosmogenic 21Ne exposure ages on late Pleistocene moraines in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA

We report new cosmogenic 21Ne in quartz exposure ages from 18 samples on three distinct moraines deposited in the Lost Creek drainage, approximately 3–7 km down-valley from Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Although measuring 21Ne in quartz is generally straightforward, accurate 21Ne exposure dating of deposits of late Pleistocene is rarely possible due to the significant quantities of
Authors
Joseph P. Tulenko, Greg Balco, Michael A. Clynne, L.J. Patrick Muffler

The ghost plume phenomenon and its impact on zenith-facing remote sensing measurements of volcanic SO2 emission rates

A large source of error in SO2 emission rates derived from mobile Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) of volcanic gas plumes is the uncertainty in atmospheric light paths between the sun and the instrument, particularly under non-ideal atmospheric conditions, such as the presence of low clouds. DOAS instruments measure the SO2 column density along the effective light path, so chang
Authors
D.S. Kushner, T.M. Lopez, Christoph Kern, Santiago Arellano, Nemesio M. Perez, J Barrancos

Awakening of Maunaloa linked to melt shared from Kilauea’s mantle source

Maunaloa—the largest active volcano on Earth—erupted in 2022 after its longest known repose period (~38 years) and two decades of volcanic unrest. This eruptive hiatus at Maunaloa encompasses most of the ~35-year-long Puʻuʻōʻō eruption of neighboring Kīlauea, which ended in 2018 with a collapse of the summit caldera and an unusually voluminous (~1 km3) rift eruption. A long-term pattern of such an
Authors
Aaron J. Pietruszka, Daniel E. Heaton, Jared P. Marske, Marc D. Norman, Mahinaokalani G. Robbins, Reed B. Mershon, Kendra J. Lynn, Drew T. Downs, Arron R. Steiner, J. Michael Rhodes, Michael O. Garcia
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