Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

Three YVO scientist communicators joined up with a university social scientist and earthquake-science communicator to offer a short course on Communicating Geohazards. 

Multiple hydrothermal breccia pipes are exposed along the northern and western shores of Yellowstone Lake and provide clues into the shallow roots of the active vent systems. 

The backbone of Yellowstone's ground-based monitoring network consists of seismic stations, which detect earthquakes, and GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers, which track ground motion.

Let's ditch the overused, misrepresentative, and misapplied "supervolcano" term. Instead, let's call them "caldera systems."

YVO gets a lot of questions about whether Yellowstone, or another caldera system, will end all life on Earth. The answer is—NO, a large explosive eruption at...

"It's been two years now since I stepped away from YVO, and I wanted to take this time to reflect a bit on my experiences with the observatory and as a scientist working in Yellowstone." - Jake Lowenstern, YVO Scientist-in-Charge for 15 years

 Learn About USGS Hazards Science and More About National Preparedness Month:  The very nature of natural hazards means that they have the potential to impact a majority of Americans every year.  USGS science provides part of the foundation for emergency preparedness whenever and wherever disaster strikes.

"No food, no fire; no means to procure either; alone in an unexplored wilderness, one hundred and fifty miles from the nearest human abode, surrounded by wild beasts, and famishing with hunger. It was no time for despondency."
- Truman C. Everts in his account "Thirty-Seven Days of Peril" that appeared in Scribner's Monthly, November 1871

Geoscientists have never observed an active magma reservoir firsthand because magmas are stored inaccessibly deep underground. However, crystals are born, grow,...

Yellowstone National park hosts more than 10,000 hydrothermal features including hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots. But did you know that park personnel document every one of those features...in person?

USGS and Yellowstone National Park scientists visited a newly discovered thermal site in the park. They mapped the extent of the area and took the temperature of the subsurface using a handheld thermistor.