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California Volcano Observatory images.

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Conceptual geologic model of partially crystallized magma (C1, C3) ...
Conceptual geologic model of partially crystallized magma (C1, C3) ...
Conceptual geologic model of partially crystallized magma (C1, C3) ...
Conceptual geologic model of partially crystallized magma (C1, C3) ...

C1 and C3 are granitic crystal-melt mush (partially crystallized magma) columns that fed the most recent Mono Craters eruptions. The connection from C1 to South Coulée (SC) is older and colder than the connection from C3 to North Coulée (NC) and Panum Crater (PC), which carries hydrothermal fluid to the surface.

C1 and C3 are granitic crystal-melt mush (partially crystallized magma) columns that fed the most recent Mono Craters eruptions. The connection from C1 to South Coulée (SC) is older and colder than the connection from C3 to North Coulée (NC) and Panum Crater (PC), which carries hydrothermal fluid to the surface.

A small child wearing warm winter clothing is viewed from the back, standing in a natural tunnel of dark volcanic rock. The roof of the tunnel is crusted with white minerals and drips of hardened rock, and to the right horizontal raised lines follow the wall of the tunnel to show lava flow levels.
Valentine Cave lava tube at Medicine Lake volcano
Valentine Cave lava tube at Medicine Lake volcano
Valentine Cave lava tube at Medicine Lake volcano

View from entrance of Valentine Cave toward interior shows the raised lines of high-lava marks on wall on wall of central pillar. USGS photo by J. Donnelly-Nolan.

View from entrance of Valentine Cave toward interior shows the raised lines of high-lava marks on wall on wall of central pillar. USGS photo by J. Donnelly-Nolan.

An older geologist with a white beard and wearing khakis and a fisherman's hat sits on a rock in the midst of red and orange wildflowers. In the distance, low rolling hills give way to craggy snow-capped mountains.
Wes Hildreth in Long Valley, 2016
Wes Hildreth in Long Valley, 2016
Wes Hildreth in Long Valley, 2016

Wes spent much of his 48 years with the USGS working in the Long Valley Caldera. USGS photo by Emily Montgomery-Brown.

Wes spent much of his 48 years with the USGS working in the Long Valley Caldera. USGS photo by Emily Montgomery-Brown.

Mount Shasta, California simplified hazards map showing potential i...
Mount Shasta, CA simplified hazards map
Mount Shasta, CA simplified hazards map
Mount Shasta, CA simplified hazards map

Mount Shasta, California simplified hazards map showing potential impact area for ground-based hazards during a volcanic event.

Lidar images of Shastina cone, west flank of Mount Shasta, Californ...
Lidar images of Shastina cone, west flank of Mount Shasta, CA. Deta...
Lidar images of Shastina cone, west flank of Mount Shasta, CA. Deta...
Lidar images of Shastina cone, west flank of Mount Shasta, CA. Deta...

Lidar images of Shastina cone, west flank of Mount Shasta, California. Details of lava flows and other surficial features are best seen in the image to the right with vegetation removed.

A greenish boulder with several shiny green rock fragments rests on pebble-strewed ground. The boulder is mottled with several colors of green minerals. The grip end of a hiking pole rests on the boulder to give a sense of scale.
Serpentinite in California's Coast Range mountains
Serpentinite in California's Coast Range mountains
Serpentinite in California's Coast Range mountains

A typical California serpentinite shining in the sun. The greenish hues come from the minerals lizardite, antigorite, and chrysotile. USGS photo by J. Ball.

A typical California serpentinite shining in the sun. The greenish hues come from the minerals lizardite, antigorite, and chrysotile. USGS photo by J. Ball.

Volcanic-gas "sniffer" installed at Mammoth Mountain, California me...
Volcanic-gas "sniffer" installed at Mammoth Mountain, CA measures t...
Volcanic-gas "sniffer" installed at Mammoth Mountain, CA measures t...
Volcanic-gas "sniffer" installed at Mammoth Mountain, CA measures t...

Volcanic-gas "sniffer" installed at Mammoth Mountain, California measures temperature plus carbon dioxide and other gas concentration from a steaming vent.

Wes Hildreth at Long Valley Caldera...
Wes Hildreth at Long Valley Caldera
Wes Hildreth at Long Valley Caldera
Wes Hildreth at Long Valley Caldera

Wes Hildreth is an expert when it comes to studying the Long Valley Caldera. Here, he is standing on Tertiary basalt lava flows on the north rim of the caldera, view to the southeast with Lake Crowley visible in the center of the caldera, and McGee Mountain above the lake on the skyline.

Wes Hildreth is an expert when it comes to studying the Long Valley Caldera. Here, he is standing on Tertiary basalt lava flows on the north rim of the caldera, view to the southeast with Lake Crowley visible in the center of the caldera, and McGee Mountain above the lake on the skyline.

Map showing one-year probability of accumulation of 1 centimeter
Map showing one-year probability of accumulation of 1 centimeter
Map showing one-year probability of accumulation of 1 centimeter
CalVO geologist Mae Marcaida examines thin layers of volcanic ash s...
CalVO geologist Mae Marcaida examines thin layers of volcanic ash s...
CalVO geologist Mae Marcaida examines thin layers of volcanic ash s...
CalVO geologist Mae Marcaida examines thin layers of volcanic ash s...

CalVO geologist Mae Marcaida examines thin layers of volcanic ash sandwiched between thick beds of sediment deposited by ancestral Mono Lake in eastern California. Each ash layer is evidence of a past explosive eruption of the Mono Craters, which began erupting about 65,000 years ago just south of present-day Mono Lake.

CalVO geologist Mae Marcaida examines thin layers of volcanic ash sandwiched between thick beds of sediment deposited by ancestral Mono Lake in eastern California. Each ash layer is evidence of a past explosive eruption of the Mono Craters, which began erupting about 65,000 years ago just south of present-day Mono Lake.

An older geologist wearing khakis, a light blue shirt, and a fisherman's hat hikes up a mountain carrying a large backpack and holding a hiking pole. He is smiling at the photographer.
Wes Hildreth hiking during fieldwork, 2013
Wes Hildreth hiking during fieldwork, 2013
Wes Hildreth hiking during fieldwork, 2013

Wes Hildreth was a lifelong runner, an activity that aided him in his field work.

Tephra provides clues to eruptive history of Medicine Lake Volcano,...
Tephra provides clues to eruptive history of Medicine Lake Volcano, CA
Tephra provides clues to eruptive history of Medicine Lake Volcano, CA
Tephra provides clues to eruptive history of Medicine Lake Volcano, CA

Geologists examine tephra deposits to better understand the early eruptive behavior of the Medicine Lake Volcano, evidence of which can be found as far away as central Oregon.

A man with white hair and a beard, wearing khakis, a blue shirt, and a fisherman's hat, reclines on a rock outcrop. He is holding a bundle of geologic maps and smiling.
Wes Hildreth mapping on the rim of the Owens River in 2013
Wes Hildreth mapping on the rim of the Owens River in 2013
Wes Hildreth mapping on the rim of the Owens River in 2013

The Bishop Tuff, studied in detail by Wes Hildreth, is exposed in the Owens River Gorge. Wes spent many field seasons exploring outcrops along the Owens River. 

Aerial view of lava tube across landscape
A lava tube trace (dark sinuous shape) along the ground surface.
A lava tube trace (dark sinuous shape) along the ground surface.
Volcano hazard zone map for Lassen Volcanic Region in Northern Cali...
Volcano hazard zone map for Lassen Volcanic Region in Northern CA p...
Volcano hazard zone map for Lassen Volcanic Region in Northern CA p...
Volcano hazard zone map for Lassen Volcanic Region in Northern CA p...

Volcanic Hazard Assessment for the Lassen Region, California is based upon a comprehensive investigation of the eruptive history and possible future eruption scenarios with associated volcanic hazards.

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