During the week of Sept. 23, the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and Mount Hood National Forest, will install three new volcano monitoring stations on the flanks of Mount Hood.
These stations will substantially improve the ability of CVO scientists and their partners to detect and provide warning of any changes in earthquake activity, ground deformation or volcanic gas emissions that may signal an increase in volcanic activity and a subsequent danger to people and property.
Mount Hood has erupted repeatedly for hundreds of thousands of years, but its most recent eruption series was from 1781 to 1793, just before the arrival of Lewis and Clark in 1805. While Mount Hood is not currently erupting, it produces frequent earthquakes and earthquake swarms, and steam and volcanic gases are emitted in the area around Crater Rock near the volcano’s summit. Because of the significant hazards the volcano poses to nearby communities and infrastructure as well as to aviation, USGS researchers designated Mount Hood as a very high threat volcano in an updated 2018 National Volcanic Threat Assessment.
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Image via USGS.