Images

May is Volcano Preparedness Month in Washington State.

During the cleanup after the 18 August 1992 eruption of Mt Spurr volcano, Alaska. The population of Anchorage used mostly wet methods to clean up the ash, creating a peak water demand which resulted in water shortages and loss of pressure in some parts of the city due to bottlenecks in the distribution system.

Ash buries cars and buildings after the 1984 eruption of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.

Featured speaker from Colombia discusses lahars at Orting, Washington, event.

Mount Rainier 2018 Teacher Workshop

The USGS-Cascades Volcano Observatory opens its doors to the public on Saturday, May 12, for a one-day open house. Scientists will be on-hand from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm to share the results of their research and talk about volcano hazards. Hands-on activities and equipment demonstrations will be featured.

Sideromelane and tachylite shards collected 12 km from source at Mount Etna, 2002. The width of view is 1 mm

Aerial view of Mount St. Helens, taken from the southwest.

Oceanic crust forms by eruptions along the Juan de Fuca ridge. As the Juan de Fuca plate drifts eastward, it cools, becomes more dense, and eventually dives under the less dense continental plate at the Cascadia trench.

For Volcano Preparedness Month in Washington State, Carolyn Driedger (USGS-Cascades Volcano Observatory) and Zane Gibson (Fire Chief, Orting Valley Fire and Rescue) share the story of their visit to Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz volcano and valuable lessons learned for resident near Mount Rainier.

Map showing locations of airports impacted by volcanic activity. From 1980 through 2006, an average of five airports per year have been affected by volcanic activity

Mount Rainier 2014 Teacher Workshop

Flow chart illustrating the many variables influencing ash-induced insulator flashover.

Streamflow measurement and water sampling at Paradise Creek are part of the regular measurements taken during hydrothermal monitoring campaigns at Mount Rainier, Washington.

Village of Belalcázar along the Páez River in Colombia. Photograph taken in 2006 - note river bank vegetation and soccer pitch is restored in 12 years after 1994 lahar.

Scientists monitor data in the California Volcano Observatory operations room, Menlo Park, California.

Graph shows thickness of ash (and larger-sized particles within 20-40 km) that fell to the ground downwind of Mount St. Helens during the eruption on May 18, 1980. The volcano ejected a minimum of 1.1 km3 of uncompacted tephra, which is equivalent to 0.20-0.25 km3 of magma or solid rock.

Heavy ashfall (20-30 mm) from Tungurahua, Ecuador, 2006.

Dusting of Klyuchevskoy ash on camera bag, 2006.

Geologic Hazards at Volcanoes. To download the full poster click here.

Mount Rainier Teacher Workshop Participants 2011