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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

Monitoring stations detect small magnitude earthquakes at Mount Rainier during July 2025

Monitoring stations detect small magnitude earthquakes at Mount Rainier during July 2025

In Memoriam: Wes Hildreth, 1938-2025

In Memoriam: Wes Hildreth, 1938-2025

Volcano Watch — What Fans the Flames Observed at Volcanic Vents?

Volcano Watch — What Fans the Flames Observed at Volcanic Vents?

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Publications

The systematics of stable hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopes and tritium (3H) in the hydrothermal system of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, USA The systematics of stable hydrogen (δ2H) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopes and tritium (3H) in the hydrothermal system of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, USA

To improve our understanding of hydrothermal activity on the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field, we collected and analyzed a large data set of δ2H, δ18O, and the 3H concentrations of circum-neutral and alkaline waters. We find that (a) hot springs are fed by recharge throughout the volcanic plateau, likely focused through fractured, permeable tuff units. Previous work had stressed the...
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, R. Blaine McCleskey, Bryant Jurgens, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Laura E. Clor, Andrew Hunt
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Rapid emplacement of the Keaiwa Lava Flow of 1823 from the Great Crack in the Southwest Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano Rapid emplacement of the Keaiwa Lava Flow of 1823 from the Great Crack in the Southwest Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano

The Keaīwa Lava Flow of 1823 in the Southwest Rift Zone of Kīlauea volcano is unusual for its expansive pāhoehoe sheet flow morphology and lack of constructive vent topography, despite having a similar tholeiitic basalt composition to other lavas erupted from Kīlauea. This lava flow issued from a ∼10-km-long continuous fissure now known as the Great Crack, and has an unusually thin sheet...
Authors
Andrea Tonato, Thomas Shea, Drew T. Downs, Karim Kelfoun
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center

Origins and fluxes of gas emissions from the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes Origins and fluxes of gas emissions from the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes

We present geochemical data from gas samples from ∼1200 km of arc in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes (CVZA), the volcanic arc with the thickest (∼70 km) continental crust globally. The primary goals of this study are to characterize and understand how magmatic gases interact with hydrothermal systems, assess the origins of the major gas species, and constrain gas emission rates...
Authors
J. Maarten de Moor, Peter Barry, Alejandro Rodriguez, Felipe Aguilera, Mauricio Aguilera, Cristobal Gonzalez, Susana Layana, Agostina Chiodi, Fredy Apaza, Pablo Masias, Christoph Kern, Jaime D. Barnes, Jeffrey T. Cullen, Deborah Bastoni, Alessia Bastianoni, Martina Cascone, Christofer Jimenez, Jessica Salas-Navarro, Carlos Ramirez, Gerdhard Jessen, Donato Giovannelli, Karen Lloyd
By
Volcano Hazards Program, Volcano Science Center
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