WK Stovall, BF Houghton, JE Hammer, SA Fagents, DA Swanson, Bull Volcanol (2012) 74:441-455. doi:10.1007/s00445-011-0531-7
Wendy Stovall, Ph.D.
Communications professional and volcanologist with the USGS Volcano Hazards Program (VHP). Manages digital communications (web and social media) for VHP and volcano observatories (except AVO). Research focuses on geologic and physical volcanology investigations of basalt eruptions. Current interest in eruption timing within and between distributed volcanic fields in the Intermountain Western U.S.
Science and Products
Year Published: 2019
Living with volcano hazards
Volcanic eruptions are among Earth’s most dramatic and powerful agents of change. Ash, mudflows, and lava flows can devastate communities near volcanoes and cause havoc in areas far downwind, downstream, and downslope. Even when a volcano is quiet, steep volcanic slopes can collapse to become landslides, and large rocks can be hurled by powerful...
Stovall, Wendy K.; Driedger, Carolyn L.; Westby, Elizabeth G.; Faust, Lisa M.Attribution: Natural Hazards, Natural Hazards, Volcano Hazards Program Office, United States of America
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Stovall, W.K., Driedger, C.L., Westby, E.G., and Faust, L.M., 2019, Living with volcano hazards: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2018–3075, 6 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20183075.
Year Published: 2016
U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program—Assess, forecast, prepare, engage
At least 170 volcanoes in 12 States and 2 territories have erupted in the past 12,000 years and have the potential to erupt again. Consequences of eruptions from U.S. volcanoes can extend far beyond the volcano’s immediate area. Many aspects of our daily life are vulnerable to volcano hazards, ...
Stovall, Wendy K.; Wilkins, Aleeza M.; Mandeville, Charles W.; Driedger, Carolyn L.Attribution: Natural Hazards, Natural Hazards, Volcano Hazards Program Office, United States of America
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Stovall, W.K., Wilkins, A.M., Mandeville, C.W., and Driedger, C.L., 2016, U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program—Assess, forecast, prepare, engage: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2016–3040, 4 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20163040.
Year Published: 2014
The California Volcano Observatory: Monitoring the state's restless volcanoes
Volcanic eruptions happen in the State of California about as frequently as the largest earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault Zone. At least 10 eruptions have taken place in California in the past 1,000 years—most recently at Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park (1914 to 1917) in the northern part of the State—and future...
Stovall, Wendy K.; Marcaida, Mae; Mangan, Margaret T.View Citation
Stovall, W.K., Marcaida, Mae, and Mangan, M.T., 2014, The California Volcano Observatory—Monitoring the State’s Restless Volcanoes (ver. 1.1, June 2019): U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2014–3120, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20143120.
Year Published: 2011
Newberry Volcano—Central Oregon's Sleeping Giant
Hidden in plain sight, Oregon's massive Newberry Volcano is the largest volcano in the Cascades volcanic arc and covers an area the size of Rhode Island. Unlike familiar cone-shaped Cascades volcanoes, Newberry was built into the shape of a broad shield by repeated eruptions over 400,000 years. About 75,000 years ago a major explosion and collapse...
Donnelly-Nolan, Julie M.; Stovall, Wendy K.; Ramsey, David W.; Ewert, John W.; Jensen, Robert A.Attribution: Natural Hazards, Natural Hazards, Volcano Hazards Program Office, United States of America
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Newberry Volcano—Central Oregon's Sleeping Giant; 2011; FS; 2011-3145; Donnelly-Nolan, Julie M. ; Stovall, Wendy K. ; Ramsey, David W. ; Ewert, John W. ; Jensen, Robert A.
Pre-USGS Publications
WK Stovall, BF Houghton, H Gonnermann, SA Fagents, DA Swanson, Bull Volcanol (2011) 73: 511. doi:10.1007/s00445-010-0426-z
WK Stovall, BF Houghton, AJL Harris, DA Swanson, Bull Volcanol (2009) 71: 767. doi:10.1007/s00445-009-0263-0
WK Stovall, BF Houghton, AJL Harris, DA Swanson, Bull Volcanol (2009) 71: 313. doi:10.1007/s00445-008-0225-y
Date published: March 29, 2021
Arid southwest landscapes dotted with the bright lights of a …. lava fountain!?
Volcanoes in Iceland, Italy, and Guatemala have put on displays that are captivating audiences worldwide. But did you know that the same sort of activity could also occur in the southwestern United States?
Date published: May 11, 2020
Introducing the new and improved YVO website!
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory website has a new and improved look! Now you'll be able to view it all via any sized computer or mobile device with ease!
Attribution: Volcano Hazards Program Office, Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, Black Rock Desert Volcanic Field, Carrizozo Lava Flow, Dotsero Volcanic Center, Markagunt Plateau Volcanic Field, Red Hill-Quemado Volcanic Field, San Francisco Volcanic Field, Uinkaret Volcanic Field, Valles Caldera, Yellowstone, Zuni-Bandera Volcanic Field
Date published: June 10, 2019
The Real Hazards of Yellowstone
Here at YVO we receive a lot of questions related to Yellowstone supereruption "what ifs" and "whens", even though that is the least possible scenario for future volcanic activity. News articles, websites, and videos often exaggerate the rarest events, while ignoring hazards that may actually happen during a person's life.
Date published: May 6, 2019
The National Volcano Early Warning System (NVEWS) will help USGS better monitor nation’s most dangerous volcanoes
In September 2004, USGS scientists detected sudden, but unmistakable, signs that Mount St. Helens was waking up. Volcano monitors had picked up the occurrence of hundreds of small earthquakes and other signals that the volcano’s crater floor had begun to rise. Within a week, several eruptions blasted clouds of ash into the atmosphere, and soon after, a new lava dome emerged in the crater.
Date published: April 22, 2019
How can we better monitor Yellowstone's dynamic hydrothermal system?
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory staff gathered in Bozeman, Montana to discuss how to better monitor changes in the thermal areas of Yellowstone National Park.
Date published: September 24, 2018
Changes are afoot in Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin!
In about 500 BCE, Heraclitus of Ephesus declared "life is flux." Today, we know the saying better as, "the only constant is change." This is true of life -- and also of hydrothermal systems.
Date published: May 14, 2018
Steamboat Counter
Steamboat Geyser, in the Norris Geyser Basin, appears to have entered a phase of more frequent water eruptions, much like it did in the 1960s and early 1980s. Although these eruptions do not have any implications for future volcanic activity at Yellowstone (after all, geysers are supposed to erupt, and most are erratic, like Steamboat), they are nonetheless spectacular.
Attribution: Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
Date published: May 18, 2017
Ever Vigilant: USGS Marks the 37th Anniversary of Mount St. Helen's Eruption and the 35th Anniversary of the Cascades Volcano Observatory
Today, in 1980, Mount St. Helens unleashed the most devastating eruption in U.S. history. Two years later, USGS founded the Cascades Volcano Observatory to monitor Mount St. Helens and all the Cascades Volcanoes.
Date published: May 18, 2017
Volcano Watch — HVO's website makeover is more than skin deep
A new structure allows for a more efficient and consistent website, with simplified maintenance that leads to fewer broken links.