View a gallery of diagrams for each volcano type with glossaries

Lava flow viscosity plays a significant role in the type of volcano formed

Thin, runny flows spread quickly before cooling, producing expansive layers that build over time into wide shield volcanoes. The ejection and fast hardening of thicker lava flows and pyroclastic material create steep slopes and the characteristic cone shape of composite volcanoes.

Volcanoes can be active, dormant, or extinct based on the recency of eruptions

Active volcanoes may be in the process of erupting or expected to erupt in the future, having done so within the past 11,650 years. Dormant volcanoes have no short-term eruption history, but are expected to erupt in the future, while extinct volcanoes lack the history and expectation.

Explore an interactive map of historical volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis

The Natural Hazards Viewer allows users to map the locations of major natural hazards from 2150 BCE to the present. Advanced filters allow for various refinement methods, including volcano morphology, earthquake magnitude, tsunami height, deaths, and damage.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Yellowstone National Park is situated atop an active supervolcano

Yellowstone showcases geothermal phenomena, including the famous Old Faithful geyser and the vibrant Grand Prismatic Spring. The park's unique geological and ecological features make it an exceptional destination for visitors from around the globe.

Explore case studies of each type of convergent plate boundary

At these boundaries, a collision of two oceanic plates produces a curved chain of volcanic islands, like those seen in the Caribbean. A continental-continental plate collision results in plates buckling upward, forming large mountain ranges.

View the ten basic cloud types, categorized by height and composition

Among the features of these types, cirrus clouds can display various colors at sunrise and sunset, while altocumulus clouds can produce a corona phenomenon around the sun or moon. Nimbostratus clouds are thick enough to block out the sun entirely.

See Mount Vesuvius from space

Mount Vesuvius is one of the few active volcanos on Europe's mainland. See it from space in this photo from NASA's Earth Observatory. This natural-color image was taken on January 2, 2022, during a break in cloud coverage.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Cerulean eruptions result from sulfur being heated by molten rock

During eruptions, warm-colored lava at temperatures between 700 and 1,200 degrees Celsius (1,300 and 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit) burns minerals as they escape from underground reservoirs. In some volcanoes, such as Indonesia's Kawah Ijen and Ethiopia's Danakil Depression, abundant sulfur compounds that burn with blue flames appear to change the color of the melted rock.

An overview of Venus, from its retrograde rotation to its volcanic surface

Boasting over 1,600 major volcanoes—more than any other planet in the solar system—Venus rotates in the opposite direction as Earth, potentially due to a major collision during its formation that flipped the planet upside-down. The planet's rotation also makes days on Venus last longer than its entire year.

View a colorful gallery of solar features curated by the National Solar Observatory

Many of the images are captured at different nonvisible wavelengths, such as UV, and then colorized into the visible range to illuminate the sun's magnetic field and magnetism-driven solar activity, including coronal loops and filamentary prominences. Close-up imaging also reveals solar granules—Texas-sized cells of material that bubble to the surface from the convection zone.

Visualize the components of fireworks

This article provides animated diagrams depicting how different parts of fireworks function. The elements work together through timed mechanisms to produce desired effects.

Could we throw trash inside volcanoes?

Americans toss out about 239 million tons of garbage each year. Some have wondered whether we could toss some (or all) of it into volcanoes, where it could be destroyed. There are about 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth, and many are pretty remote, making logistics complex. This video investigates whether the idea checks out.

Scientists monitor volcanoes with a suitcase-sized observatory called SKATE

Short for Setup for the Kinematic Acquisition of Explosive Eruptions, the device is left to record heat, sound and visual data while volcanologists remain at a safe distance. The $58,000 tool is the successor to the FAMoUS (Fast Multiparametric Setup) prototype.

A simple pictorial explanation of ocean geography

Visualizing ocean geographical features, such as a coastal zone, continental shelf and abyssal plain. This article from the US Geological Survey also provides several links to diverse ocean facts.

Explore the collection of vivid frescoes Pompeii left behind

This gallery showcases remarkably preserved frescoes depicting food, daily life, landscapes, and myth. Tools abandoned during the eruption reveal how ancient artists worked, offering insight into Pompeii’s visual culture before Vesuvius buried the city in ash.

Dirty lightning is a thunderstorm created from friction between rising and falling flows of ash and smoke during volcanic eruptions.

Explore what each organelle does within various types of cells

In "Cell Anatomy Viewer," users can explore interactive illustrations of animal, plant, fungal, and bacterial cells. Clicking on an organelle, such as a lysosome, the nucleolus, or the Golgi complex, provides descriptions of its characteristics and functions.

View a directory of more than 300 dinosaurs

This resource details each dinosaur's taxonomy, type, diet, and habitat, from Aardonyx to Zuniceratops. More well-researched dinosaurs include information on when they were discovered alongside their size, behaviors, and other noteworthy findings.

Learn all about different types of extreme weather

Find out in more detail about different types of extreme weather, from flooding to thunderstorms, from tropical cyclones to sandstorms, and more (w/ helpful videos).

View an interactive collection of historical documents from the Viking project

This collection includes original mission bulletins, engineering and planning documents, and interview segments from more than 80 Viking team members who made the historic exploration of Mars’ surface by a lander possible.

Understanding the distinctions between coffee types

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed looking at a coffee shop menu, you're not alone. Here's a breakdown between common coffee styles. Click through the link to see similar guides to espresso and cold drinks.

Breaking down the different types of vaccine technologies

There are several different types of vaccines. Each type is designed to teach your immune system how to fight off germs—and the serious diseases they cause. This short overview breaks down the differences between the types.

The best drone photos of 2022

A look at the winning entries into the Drone photo awards 2022, including the overall winner showing a secondary fissure caused by the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland.

A look at Mauna Loa, which produces the gold standard of global CO2 measurements.

Mauna Loa Observatory is a station that measures the elements in the atmosphere that contribute to climate change. It is located on the side of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. 

Explore a visual of 16 different types of trusts

While all trusts fit into one of two categories (revocable or irrevocable), many other types of trusts exist for more specific circumstances. Think: pet trusts and special needs trusts.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.

What do psychedelic plants look like?

Far from the drippy aesthetic often associated with psychedelics, the plants powering naturally occurring psychoactive experiences may not stand out as anything special. This database offers a visual guide to psychoactive plants and fungi. Clicking on the title of a particular plant, such as yerba mate, will bring up a secondary screen with various hyperlinked images, such as the plant itself, related botanical drawings, and molecular structures.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

This poison ivy knowledge quiz—accompanied by photos of the plant's varied forms—may help you identify this common rash-inducing growth.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.