Our friends at the Alaska Volcano Observatory take earth science to the extreme. In this photo Rick Wessels is acquiring thermal images of the dome on Lake Clark National Park’s Redoubt Volcano with a state of the art (and fun to use!) tool known as the FLIR. 

Photo: Game McGimsey - AVO/USGS.

Crater Lake has inspired people for hundreds of years. No place else on earth combines a deep, pure lake, so blue in color; sheer surrounding cliffs, almost two thousand feet high; two picturesque islands; and a violent volcanic past. It is a place of immeasurable beauty, and an outstanding outdoor laboratory and classroom.

Photo: National Park Service 

Given its remote location and notoriously bad weather, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve is one of the least visited units of the National Park System. A vibrant reminder of Alaska’s location in the volcanically active “Ring of Fire,” the monument is home to an impressive six-mile wide, 2,500 ft. deep caldera formed during a massive eruption 3,500 years ago.

Photo: National Park Service 

Volcanoes are monuments to Earth’s origin, evidence that its primordial forces are still at work. During a volcanic eruption, we are reminded that our planet is an ever-changing environment whose basic processes are beyond human control. As much as we have altered the face of the Earth to suit our needs, we can only stand in awe before the power of an eruption.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a fascinating world of active volcanism, biological diversity, and Hawaiian culture, past and present.

Photo: Yvone Baur, National Park Service 

Soaring 14,410 feet into the sky, Mount Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascade Range. It dominates the landscape, inspires our imagination, and challenges our senses. This active ice covered volcano is a symbol of the dramatic forces that shape our world. From its old growth forests and subalpine meadows to its glacier-clad peak, Mount Rainier offers many opportunities to explore its natural beauty.

Mount Rainier is also rich in cultural history. For thousands of years, tribal groups have gathered here. Designated a national park in 1899, many areas contribute to its National Historic Landmark District status.

Photo: William Lee - National Park Service

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho is a vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush. We invite you to explore this “weird and scenic landscape” where yesterday’s volcanic events are likely to continue tomorrow.

Photo: National Park Service