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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.

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Volcano Activity Notifications

Ash-rich plume rises out of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, Kilauea Volcano Hawaiʻi

USGS Volcano Observatories release regular updates and notifications to communicate increases or decreases in volcanic activity and explain unusual or hazardous circumstances. 

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Volcano Hazards Assessments

Mount Rainier seen from Puyallup, Washington

Long-term hazards assessments identify locations at risk from volcanic hazards. They are released as high-resolution hazards-zonation maps with accompanying explanations, which help guide eruption preparedness plans.

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U.S. Volcano Observatories

Volcano Observatory staff monitor, research, and issue formal notices of activity for volcanoes in assigned geographic areas. Scientists also assess volcano hazards and work with communities to prepare for volcanic eruptions.

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News

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Volcano Watch — Explosive eruptions from Kīlauea: beneficial or dangerous depending on location

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Volcano Watch — Volcano monitoring can be a risky business: how scientists work safely

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Volcano Watch — Fostering Prepared Youths on the Natural Hazards of Backyard Volcanoes

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Publications

Editorial: Remote sensing of volcanic gas emissions from the ground, air, and space

When magma rises in volcanic systems, volatile species exsolve from the melt and are outgassed to the atmosphere. The melt composition and temperature, depth at which degassing occurs, extent of gas-water-rock interactions, and volume of ascending magma are all factors that determine the composition and rate of gas emissions at the surface. Interpreted in a petrological framework, gas measurements
Authors
Christoph Kern, Santiago Arellano, Robin Campion, Silvana Hidalgo, Ryunosuke Kazahaya
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Understanding the drivers of volcano deformation through geodetic model verification and validation

Volcano geodesy often involves the use of models to explain observed surface deformation. A variety of forward models are used, from analytical point sources to numerical simulations that consider complex magma system geometries, topography, and material properties. Various inversion methods can then be used to relate observed volcano data to models. Ideally, forward models should be verified thro
Authors
Joshua Allen Crozier, Leif Karlstrom, Emily Montgomery-Brown, Mario Angarita, Valérie Cayol, Mary Grace Bato, Taiyi Wang, Ronni Grapenthin, Tara Shreve, Kyle R. Anderson, Ana Astort, Olivier Bodart, Flavio Cannavò, Gilda Currenti, Farshid Dabaghi, Brittany A. Erickson, Deepak Garg, Matthew Head, Adriana Iozzia, Young Cheol Kim, Hélène Le Mével, Camila Novoa Lizama, Cody Rucker, Francesca Silverii, Yan Zhan
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Chemistry and petrography of early 19th century basaltic andesites and basalts from the Kamakaiʻa Hills in the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano, Hawaiʻi

Kīlauea is a frequently active, open-system volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi known for erupting olivine-dominated tholeiitic basalt compositions. On rare occasions it erupts more differentiated magmas (<1% of erupted volume), such as basaltic andesites and andesites, from its rift zones. These differentiated magmas offer an opportunity to understand better the petrology, magma storage, magma mixin
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Drew T. Downs, May Sas, Richard W. Hazlett
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
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