USGS operates five U.S. Volcano Observatories | U.S. Geological Survey
Official websites use .gov
.gov
website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
lock (
or
means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
USGS operates five U.S. Volcano Observatories
By
Volcano Hazards Program
Volcano Hazards Program
Volcano Updates
Monitoring
Hazards
Preparedness
Products
Data
Publications
Education
Software
Multimedia
News
Connect
About
Observatories
Eruption Forecasts
Volcano Assessment
NVEWS
NVEWSAC
VDAP
Volcano monitoring and research conducted at five U.S. volcano observatories advances our understanding of active volcanism and its impacts, and enables the USGS Volcano Hazards Program to provide information about and warnings of volcanic activity in the United States.
Media
Scientists performing monitoring duties in the Alaska Volcano Observatory operations room. (Public domain)
Each voclano observatory is assigned a geographic area of responsibility and issues
formal notices of activity
for volcanoes in those regions. The observatories and their partner organizations operate real-time
volcano monitoring
networks, disseminate forecasts and notifications of significant activity, assess volcano hazards, conduct scientific research into volcanic processes, and work with communities to prepare for volcanic eruptions.
Media
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
View Media Details
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory staff, June 2019 (Public domain.)
Alaska Volcano Observatory
(AVO)
covers volcanoes in Alaska from offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. AVO is a partnership among the U.S. Geological Survey, the
Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks
, and the
Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys
. The Scientist-in-Charge of AVO also coordinates the monitoring of volcanic activity in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. Territory.
USGS California Volcano Observatory
(CalVO)
covers volcanoes in California and Nevada from the USGS offices in Menlo Park, California.
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
(CVO)
covers volcanoes in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, and is located in Vancouver, Washington. CVO coordinates with the
Pacific Northwest Seismic Network
, headquartered at the University of Washington in Seattle to provide seismic monitoring of volcanoes in the region.
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
(HVO)
covers volcanoes in the state of Hawaii and is located on the Island of Hawai‘i in
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory
(YVO)
covers the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and its
caldera
. The YVO is a consortium of 8 organizations: U.S. Geological Survey,
University of Utah
Yellowstone National Park
Earthscope
(a non-profit university-governed consortium),
University of Wyoming
Montana State University
, and the state geological surveys of
Idaho
Montana
, and
Wyoming
. The Scientist-in-Charge of YVO also monitors volcanic activity in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
Media
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.
View Media Details
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff, September 2018. (Public domain.)
Worldwide Volcanoes
Volcano Disaster Assistance Program
(VDAP)
works internationally by formal invitation of host countries through the U.S. State Department. VDAP works with the host countries to prepare for, and respond to, volcano emergencies. VDAP is a joint program of the USGS and U.S. Department of State and is headquartered at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington.
Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program
offers detailed information about worldwide volcanoes.
Was this page helpful?