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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.

News

USGS supercomputers help assess volcanic hazards in support of community resilience

USGS supercomputers help assess volcanic hazards in support of community resilience

Volcano Watch — A New Kīlauea Eruption

Volcano Watch — A New Kīlauea Eruption

Volcano Watch — Recent intrusions follow pattern of previous events

Volcano Watch — Recent intrusions follow pattern of previous events

Publications

Physics-based forecasts of eruptive vent locations at calderas

Constraining stresses in the Earth's crust in volcanic regions is critical for understanding many mechanical processes related to eruptive activity. Dike pathways, in particular, are shaped by the orientation of principal stress axes. Therefore, accurate models of dike trajectories and future vent locations rely on accurate estimates of stresses in the subsurface. This work presents a framework fo
Authors
Lorenzo Mantiloni, Eleanora Rivalta, Kyle R. Anderson, Timothy W. Davis, Luigi Passarelli

Debris-flow monitoring on volcanoes via a novel usage of a laser rangefinder

Mount Rainier has had at least 11 large lahars over the last 6,000 years, including one occurring without evidence of eruptive activity. This prompted the creation of a lahar detection system that uses a combination of seismic, infrasound, and tripwires. We test a laser rangefinder placed on a river channel bank for detecting and confirming mass movements flowing past a station as an alternative t
Authors
Alexandra M. Iezzi, Emily H Bryant, Weston Thelen, Craig Gabrielson, Seth C. Moran, Matthew R. Patrick, Edward F. Younger, Maciej Obryk

Onset and tempo of ignimbrite flare-up volcanism in the eastern and central Mogollon-Datil volcanic field, southern New Mexico, USA

The Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up (40–18 Ma) generated multiple volcanic fields in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico resulting from asthenospheric mantle upwelling after removal of the Farallon slab. The correlation of tuffs to one another and to source calderas within these volcanic fields is essential for determining spatiotemporal patterns in volcanism and magma geochemistry, wh
Authors
Karissa B. Vermillion, Emily Renee Johnson, Jeffrey M. Amato, Matthew T. Heizler, Jenna Lente
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