Yellowstone Volcano Observatory

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The map displays volcanoes, earthquakes, monitoring instruments, and past lava flows.

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To view an earthquake cross-sectional plot, click "Draw Plot" to start drawing on the map. Once the plot area is selected, click on "View Plot" to view chart or "Clear Plot" to start over.

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Yellowstone
green NORMAL, 2026-04-01 16:30:25 UTC

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) is a consortium of nine state and federal agencies who provide timely monitoring and hazard assessment of volcanic, hydrothermal, and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone Plateau region. The USGS arm of YVO is also responsible for monitoring and reporting on volcanic activity in the intermountain west U.S. states.

Yellowstone Monitoring Map

The monitoring map for Yellowstone has moved to the top of the volcano and volcano observatory home page. 

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles

Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles is a weekly column written by scientists and collaborators of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory.

Volcanism on the other side of the world from the Yellowstone Caldera

Volcanism on the other side of the world from the Yellowstone Caldera

Mapping snow- and ice-free zones to monitor thermal activity in Yellowstone using high-resolution commercial satellite imagery

Mapping snow- and ice-free zones to monitor thermal activity in Yellowstone using high-resolution commercial satellite imagery

Hot Spring Cleaning!

Hot Spring Cleaning!

The first instrumentally detected hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park The first instrumentally detected hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone National Park

Hydrothermal explosions are one of the geological hazards most likely to impact people in Yellowstone National Park, but their frequency is poorly known. Infrasound and seismic sensors identified an explosion in Norris Geyser Basin on 15 April 2024, at 14:56 MDT (20:56 UTC)—the first instrumentally detected hydrothermal explosion in the Yellowstone region. The event affected an area tens...
Authors
Michael Poland, Alexandra M. Iezzi, Jamie Farrell, R. Greg Vaughan

Magmatic volatiles in the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field: The knowns, the unknowns, and the uncertainties Magmatic volatiles in the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field: The knowns, the unknowns, and the uncertainties

The Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field has a large magmatic system supplying heat and mass into the overlying hydrothermal system. To interpret changes in the composition and/or emission rates of hydrothermal fluids as possible indicators of volcanic unrest requires discriminating between magmatic, crustal, hydrothermal, and hybrid sources and processes. Significant progress in...
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, Jacob B. Lowenstern

Lithium from magma to mine in an early Yellowstone hotspot caldera Lithium from magma to mine in an early Yellowstone hotspot caldera

Renewable energy technologies rely on the extraction of metals not historically in high demand, such as lithium (Li), for which ore deposit models are incompletely understood. One of the world’s largest Li deposits is hosted in lake sediments of the 16.4 Ma McDermitt caldera, which formed during the early stages of Yellowstone hotspot volcanism in the western United States. Eruptive and
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts