Scientists from the Southwestern United States, including Utah, spent the weekend studying volcanoes and how best to prepare for future activity. Steve Bowman, with the Utah Geological Survey, says even though volcanic activity is rare in Utah, it has happened.
"There are three main volcanic fields and each of the fields has a variety of these volcanic centers, like cinder cones and other features that have erupted in the past and they are all in southwest Utah."
Bowman says one site is located south of Delta, the other just north of St. George and another west of Cedar City. But, he says even if Utah doesn’t suffer from an eruption itself, it could be affected by one in a nearby state.
"You could end up having some kind of event or an eruption in an adjoining state that could end up affecting Utah. And, even a volcanic event in California, there could end up being an ash cloud that comes to Utah that could create a problem."
The last volcanic eruption in Utah was 660 years ago.