Volcanoes are dramatic surface expressions of incredible processes that occur within the earth. The deep processes require geophysical tools to detect and study, while at the surface just a camera will do. I go to volcanoes to see the beauty of volcanic regions, and to see for myself how volcanoes work. Science is a process of observation and discovery. These photos show some of the sights I've seen while working on volcanoes. They remind me that what I try to describe scientifically with numbers and equations are actual events that happen in the Earth's crust. And they're nice to look at.

.....see Mauna Loa's 1984 eruption. The 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa began with a spectacular "Curtain of Fire". The erupting fissure seen here is the surface trace of a dike, a blade-shaped crack formed and filled by migrating magma......

....visit Mount St. Helens. Eruptions of dacite during several years following the major 1980 eruption built a lava dome, partly filling the crater....
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Daniel J. Johnson --- dan@volcanic.com

Last Modified: March 15, 1997