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To study active volcanism and warn of impending eruptions in the United States, we depend on the scientific study and monitoring of volcanoes at five volcano observatories and the USGS Western Region Center in Menlo Park, California. Our work also takes us around the world to assist other nations prepare for and respond to volcano emergencies through the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program. Our strategy is to monitor earthquake activity, ground deformation, gas chemistry, and other geophysical and hydrologic conditions before, during, and after eruptions. We use these observations to detect activity leading to an eruption, provide real-time emergency information about future and ongoing eruptions, identify hazardous areas around active and potentially active volcanoes, and improve our understanding of how volcanoes erupt and change our environment. |
The Alaska Volcano Observatory has two locations in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. It is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
The USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory is located in Vancouver, Washington. It is headquarters for the USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program, which is also supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is located in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawai`i.
Although not an actual "observatory," the USGS Long Valley Caldera Observatory manages the monitoring efforts for the Long Valley Caldera from the USGS Western Region Headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory is the most recent U.S. volcano observatory. The goal of the observatory is to improve the existing collaborative study and monitoring of active geologic processes and hazards of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and its caldera. The Observatory is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Utah, and the Yellowstone National Park. The park was the world's first National Park. It contains the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world.
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