Images

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

Plot of earthquakes in Mount Shasta region greater than M1.0 from April 3, 2010 to April 3, 2015.

USGS scientists Deb Bergfeld and Laura Clor collect samples of the gas from the old Gas Hill wellhead in Kelseyville, CA. USGS photo by Jen Lewicki.

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, California. Details of lava flows and other surficial features are best seen in the image to the right with vegetation removed.

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

Titanium tubed used to collect gas from a fumarole near Lassen Peak, California.

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

Catastrophic landslide near Oso, Washington, March 22, 2014.

Map showing one-year probability of accumulation of 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) or more of tephra from eruptions of volcanoes in the Cascade Range.

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.

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

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.

Carbon dioxide gas detection instrument installed at Horseshoe Lake, Mammoth Mountain, California.

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. 

A tumulus at Captain Jack's stronghold within Lava Beds National Monument .

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.

Aerial view of a lava tube trace (dark sinuous shape) along the ground surface at Medicine Lake Volcano, California.

Lassen Peak viewed from the south at the summit of Brokeoff Volcano, Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Mudpots bubble and steam near the Salton Buttes lava domes, a volcanic area at the southeastern end of the Salton Sea, California.