Frequently Asked Questions
An endless number of questions can be asked about Earth's volcanoes, and not all of them can be answered completely by scientists. Each new eruption and research project provides new information about how volcanoes work, and usually presents scientists with many new questions to try to answer in subsequent work. The questions below are general questions we frequently receive from people interested in volcanoes. Since some of these questions are answered by information in this website (and other websites), we've provided links for you to follow to learn of the answer(s). If you are interested in questions about a specific volcano or volcano observatory, you can find answers to your questions on the observatory FAQs linked at the bottom of this page.
About This Site
- Can the images on this website be used in "my" brochure, publication, presentation, or program?
- For the images that are in the public domain, are they available from the webmaster in a higher resolution?
About Studying and Working on Volcanoes
- Are you "scared" when working on an active volcano?
- Is it dangerous and what precautions do scientists take?
- What's it like to work on volcanoes?
- What kind of school training do you need to become a volcanologist?
- What instruments, tools, and methods do you use to study volcanoes?
About Volcanoes and Earthquakes, Climate, and the Earth's Structure
About Volcanic Eruptions
- Can an eruption at one volcano trigger an eruption at another nearby volcano (for example, within about 10 km)?
- Is there evidence for a cause and effect relationship between eruptions that occur at about the same time from volcanoes located hundreds to thousands of kilometers apart?
- What volcanoes in the conterminous United States have erupted since the Nation was founded?
Can't find your question here? Try these Web pages:
- Questions about Yellowstone
- Questions answered by the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
- Volcano questions answered in Volcano World
