Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Browse images from a wide range of science topics covered by USGS. All items in this gallery are considered public domain unless otherwise noted.
A building lifted from its foundation by floodwater from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok is trapped under a bridge in Nome, Alaska.
A building lifted from its foundation by floodwater from Extratropical Typhoon Merbok is trapped under a bridge in Nome, Alaska.
Point-of-view image of an adult male polar bear walking along the coast in Wapusk National Park, Canada. The image was recorded from a GPS-enabled video camera collar as part of a study measuring the energy expenditure, behavior, movement, and body composition changes of polar bears on land.
Point-of-view image of an adult male polar bear walking along the coast in Wapusk National Park, Canada. The image was recorded from a GPS-enabled video camera collar as part of a study measuring the energy expenditure, behavior, movement, and body composition changes of polar bears on land.
Point-of-view image of an adult male polar bear interacting with two other bears while on land near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The image was recorded from a GPS-enabled video camera collar as part of a study measuring the energy expenditure, behavior, movement, and body composition changes of polar bears on land.
Point-of-view image of an adult male polar bear interacting with two other bears while on land near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. The image was recorded from a GPS-enabled video camera collar as part of a study measuring the energy expenditure, behavior, movement, and body composition changes of polar bears on land.
A Common Murre feeds its chick a capelin at the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A Common Murre feeds its chick a capelin at the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Capelin are an important, energy rich forage fish for many marine predators.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre holds a display fish at its breeding site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.p
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre holds a display fish at its breeding site on Gull Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2019. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.p
Tributary of Kugururok River located in Noatak National Park and Preserve, Alaska with orange water. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Tributary of Kugururok River located in Noatak National Park and Preserve, Alaska with orange water. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
This is a graphical abstract for a publication by the USGS and collaborators that examines the role of diet and food intake affecting polar bear population dynamics. Polar bears consume diets consisting of high proportions of marine mammal blubber that they access from the sea ice.
This is a graphical abstract for a publication by the USGS and collaborators that examines the role of diet and food intake affecting polar bear population dynamics. Polar bears consume diets consisting of high proportions of marine mammal blubber that they access from the sea ice.
Figure comparing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite images of Pacific walruses on a terrestrial haulout near Point Lay, Alaska, as collected by four different SAR instruments possessing different spatial resolution capabilities (Sentinel-1, Radarsat-2, TerraSAR-X, and Capella Space).
Figure comparing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite images of Pacific walruses on a terrestrial haulout near Point Lay, Alaska, as collected by four different SAR instruments possessing different spatial resolution capabilities (Sentinel-1, Radarsat-2, TerraSAR-X, and Capella Space).
Mainstem of Kugururok River located in Noatak National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Mainstem of Kugururok River located in Noatak National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre flies above the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2018. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
A melanistic (all dark) Common Murre flies above the Gull Island breeding colony in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 2018. See related paper published in the Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation at: http://www.marineornithology.org/PDF/50_2/50_2_225-227.pdf.
Deposition on tributary of Salmon River located in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Deposition on tributary of Salmon River located in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Tributary of Salmon River located in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Tributary of Salmon River located in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Tributary of Salmon River located in the Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Tributary of Salmon River located in the Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Mainstem of Salmon River located in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Mainstem of Salmon River located in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. Recent observations from Arctic Alaska indicate that waters draining permafrost landscapes may be susceptible to iron and carbon mobilization following thaw.
Tyree Brown is holding a GPS, where he is navigating to the next survey point. Photo taken on Bird Ridge. In the background is Turnagain Arm, Alaska. Photo taken by Toshio Matsuoka
Tyree Brown is holding a GPS, where he is navigating to the next survey point. Photo taken on Bird Ridge. In the background is Turnagain Arm, Alaska. Photo taken by Toshio Matsuoka
Tyree brown, smiling, stands on a rocky outcrop at Bird ridge, Alaska with mountains in the background. Photo by Toshio Matsuoka
Tyree brown, smiling, stands on a rocky outcrop at Bird ridge, Alaska with mountains in the background. Photo by Toshio Matsuoka
Tyree brown is hiking up Bird Ridge with Turnagain Arm in the background. Photo taken by Toshio Matsuoka.
Tyree brown is hiking up Bird Ridge with Turnagain Arm in the background. Photo taken by Toshio Matsuoka.
Tyree brown is recording a GPS point of a survey point in the middle of a mixed deciduous and evergreen forest on Bird Ridge, Alaska. The survey marker is the shiny metal disk on the tree on the right side of the frame. Photo by Toshio Matsuoka
Tyree brown is recording a GPS point of a survey point in the middle of a mixed deciduous and evergreen forest on Bird Ridge, Alaska. The survey marker is the shiny metal disk on the tree on the right side of the frame. Photo by Toshio Matsuoka
Scientist checking a gold pan for gold and critical minerals in placer tailings on lower Chicken Creek near Flat, Alaska, in the Kuskokwim Mountains. A sample was collected from legacy gold placer tailings at this site and 7 others in the Flat mining district to determine the critical mineral contents of tailings from which only gold has been removed.
Scientist checking a gold pan for gold and critical minerals in placer tailings on lower Chicken Creek near Flat, Alaska, in the Kuskokwim Mountains. A sample was collected from legacy gold placer tailings at this site and 7 others in the Flat mining district to determine the critical mineral contents of tailings from which only gold has been removed.
USGS crew measuring forest conditions following the Dixie Fire in 2021. Lassen Volcanic National Park. California.
USGS crew measuring forest conditions following the Dixie Fire in 2021. Lassen Volcanic National Park. California.
A bucket holds an assortment of forage-sized fishes from Lion Bay on the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. Species include saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis), Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis), and Arctic smelt (Osmerus mordax), among others.
A bucket holds an assortment of forage-sized fishes from Lion Bay on the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. Species include saffron cod (Eleginus gracilis), Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida), fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis), and Arctic smelt (Osmerus mordax), among others.