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Browse images from a wide range of science topics covered by USGS. All items in this gallery are considered public domain unless otherwise noted.

Filter Total Items: 1594
Snow covered ground label/arrows pointing to main scarp. Other labels apartment building, St. Mary’s Residence, and streets.
annotated St. Mary's Residence - Old Providence Hospital
annotated St. Mary's Residence - Old Providence Hospital
annotated St. Mary's Residence - Old Providence Hospital

1964 aerial photograph of St. Mary's Residence and the nearby Four Seasons Apartment Building (#25 on map), Anchorage, Alaska. copyright: Air Photo Tech - NV5 Geospatial. Original photo was used to make annotated version.

1964 aerial photograph of St. Mary's Residence and the nearby Four Seasons Apartment Building (#25 on map), Anchorage, Alaska. copyright: Air Photo Tech - NV5 Geospatial. Original photo was used to make annotated version.

Snow covered ground with hospital, water tower and other buildings. Ground failure, cracking and sliding down slope.
Native Hospital landslide in Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska
Native Hospital landslide in Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska
Native Hospital landslide in Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska

Native Hospital landslide in Anchorage, showing graben and pressure ridge. The scar of an older landslide is transected by the slide of March 27.

Ground that has shifted downward next to damages school. Part of building is engulfed in open ground. Water tower in back.
Damaged Government Hill School, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska
Damaged Government Hill School, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska
Damaged Government Hill School, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska

Wreckage of Government Hill School in Anchorage, as viewed from the playground, looking west. The graben in the foreground is about 12 feet deep. The water tower is undamaged.

Buildings are piles of rubble, snow on ground on major downtown road. Highrise building in background.
Fourth Avenue landslide
Fourth Avenue landslide
Fourth Avenue landslide

Warehouses at the toe of the Fourth Avenue landslide in Anchorage were destroyed by compressional buckling and foreshortening that are illustrated in slides 49 and 50.  Much of the supply of food and drink for the city of Anchorage was stored in these buildings, and they were guarded by Eskimo units of the Alaska National Guard.

Warehouses at the toe of the Fourth Avenue landslide in Anchorage were destroyed by compressional buckling and foreshortening that are illustrated in slides 49 and 50.  Much of the supply of food and drink for the city of Anchorage was stored in these buildings, and they were guarded by Eskimo units of the Alaska National Guard.

House surround by snow is undamaged and intact. Apartment building behind house is crumbling and broken in two.
Landslides and damage, Anchorage District
Landslides and damage, Anchorage District
Landslides and damage, Anchorage District

Destructive landslides and damage in Anchorage: graben at the head of the L Street landslide.
Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska, 1964.
Photo by A. Grantz.
Published in U. S.Geological Survey. Circular 491, Figures 18A & 18B, p.31. 1964.

Destructive landslides and damage in Anchorage: graben at the head of the L Street landslide.
Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska, 1964.
Photo by A. Grantz.
Published in U. S.Geological Survey. Circular 491, Figures 18A & 18B, p.31. 1964.

Two buildings on hill. One is damaged, exposed brick, no windows and other house has no damage.
Hillside apartment complex
Hillside apartment complex
Hillside apartment complex

Alaska Earthquake March 27, 1964.
Compare the damage sustained by the Hillside Apartment Building and the adjacent three-story wood-frame dwelling with the tall chimney. In general, wood frame buildings in Anchorage sustained little damage from seismic vibration.

Alaska Earthquake March 27, 1964.
Compare the damage sustained by the Hillside Apartment Building and the adjacent three-story wood-frame dwelling with the tall chimney. In general, wood frame buildings in Anchorage sustained little damage from seismic vibration.

Cracks in multiple story building. Streetlight in front with wood panels converging broken glass doors and windows.
Damage to Mt. McKinley apartments caused by 1964 earthquake
Damage to Mt. McKinley apartments caused by 1964 earthquake
Damage to Mt. McKinley apartments caused by 1964 earthquake

View of damage to the Mt. McKinley Apartments in Anchorage, Alaska caused by the March 27, 1964 earthquake. Image includes automobiles, people, and power lines. Yellow sign on building reads fallout shelter. Sign on building reads Blue mirror bar lounge. Sign on building, lower right, reads Physicians optical guild opticans.

View of damage to the Mt. McKinley Apartments in Anchorage, Alaska caused by the March 27, 1964 earthquake. Image includes automobiles, people, and power lines. Yellow sign on building reads fallout shelter. Sign on building reads Blue mirror bar lounge. Sign on building, lower right, reads Physicians optical guild opticans.

Cracks in snow covered ground from landslide from 1964 Alaksa Earthquake. Leaking tank with liquid on left side of photo.
Ruptured fuel tank, Alaska Native Hospital
Ruptured fuel tank, Alaska Native Hospital
Ruptured fuel tank, Alaska Native Hospital

Close-up of the compressional buckle, the ruptured fuel tank, and the revetment at the foot of the landslide near the Alaska Native Hospital in Anchorage.

Close-up of the compressional buckle, the ruptured fuel tank, and the revetment at the foot of the landslide near the Alaska Native Hospital in Anchorage.

Multiple floors, walls collapse of multistory department store. Equipment clearing debris and a dozen men standing around.
Wreckage of J.C. Penney Department Store at Fifth Avenue and D Street
Wreckage of J.C. Penney Department Store at Fifth Avenue and D Street
Wreckage of J.C. Penney Department Store at Fifth Avenue and D Street

Album caption: Wreckage of the J.C. Penney's Department Store at Fifth Avenue and D Street. Building failed after sustained seismic shaking. Most of rubble has been cleared from the streets. Anchorage, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska, 1964. (Photo by George Plafker). Published as Figure 5 in U.S. Geological Survey. Professional Paper 542-A. 1965.

Album caption: Wreckage of the J.C. Penney's Department Store at Fifth Avenue and D Street. Building failed after sustained seismic shaking. Most of rubble has been cleared from the streets. Anchorage, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska, 1964. (Photo by George Plafker). Published as Figure 5 in U.S. Geological Survey. Professional Paper 542-A. 1965.

Extensive damage with cracks and outer walls of high-rise building missing as well as windows.
The 1200 L Street Building
The 1200 L Street Building
The 1200 L Street Building

The 1200 "L" Street Building in Anchorage, a fourteen-story reinforced concrete apartment building, was severely damaged during the earthquake. One the main exterior piers (the white bearing walls without windows)shown in this slide, failed at the second floor, exposing the steel reinforced bars within the concrete.

The 1200 "L" Street Building in Anchorage, a fourteen-story reinforced concrete apartment building, was severely damaged during the earthquake. One the main exterior piers (the white bearing walls without windows)shown in this slide, failed at the second floor, exposing the steel reinforced bars within the concrete.

Snow covered landslide with tress and houses. Ridges and cracks moving downhill in center and left side of photo.
Turnagain Heights landslide, Anchorage
Turnagain Heights landslide, Anchorage
Turnagain Heights landslide, Anchorage

Part of the Turnagain Heights landslide in Anchorage shortly after the earthquake.
Anchorage, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska, 1964.
Photo by W.R. Hansen, 1964.
Published in Frontispiece, U.S. Geological Survey Professional paper 541, 1966.

Part of the Turnagain Heights landslide in Anchorage shortly after the earthquake.
Anchorage, Anchorage District, Cook Inlet Region, Alaska, 1964.
Photo by W.R. Hansen, 1964.
Published in Frontispiece, U.S. Geological Survey Professional paper 541, 1966.

Houses damaged, turned sideways and sloping down amongst ground that is cracked and jumbled due to landslide from earthquake.
Damage to houses from landslides in Turnagain Heights
Damage to houses from landslides in Turnagain Heights
Damage to houses from landslides in Turnagain Heights

Alaska Earthquake March 27, 1964. Damage to houses from landslides in Turnagain Heights in Anchorage. Photo by R.A. Page.
Pages 24-25, Earthquake Information Bulletin, v.12, no.1.

Alaska Earthquake March 27, 1964. Damage to houses from landslides in Turnagain Heights in Anchorage. Photo by R.A. Page.
Pages 24-25, Earthquake Information Bulletin, v.12, no.1.

Fairweather fault 1958
Fairweather fault 1958
Fairweather fault 1958
Fairweather fault 1958

Low-level oblique aerial view of Fairweather fault. Photo taken east of North Dome, looking northwest, August 26, 1958.

Low-level oblique aerial view of Fairweather fault. Photo taken east of North Dome, looking northwest, August 26, 1958.

A raft of sea otters near Cohen Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Snow caped mountains in the background.
A raft of sea otters, Alaska
A raft of sea otters, Alaska
A raft of sea otters, Alaska

A raft of sea otters near Cohen Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Sea otters rest together in groups called rafts. A raft can generally contain 10 to 100 sea otters. You will see either all male or all female with pups rafts.

A raft of sea otters near Cohen Island in Kachemak Bay, Alaska. Sea otters rest together in groups called rafts. A raft can generally contain 10 to 100 sea otters. You will see either all male or all female with pups rafts.

Graduate student on rock looking through a spotting scope on tripod used to observe sea otters.
Emily Reynolds watching sea otters through a spotting scope
Emily Reynolds watching sea otters through a spotting scope
Emily Reynolds watching sea otters through a spotting scope

Emily Reynolds, a graduate student, looks through a spotting scope. The student is watching sea otters in Kachemak Bay forage. USGS researchers spend hundreds of hours annually observing sea otter foraging behavior to document prey composition and energy recovery rates.

Emily Reynolds, a graduate student, looks through a spotting scope. The student is watching sea otters in Kachemak Bay forage. USGS researchers spend hundreds of hours annually observing sea otter foraging behavior to document prey composition and energy recovery rates.

Image: Old Chevak Goose Camp
Old Chevak Goose Camp
Old Chevak Goose Camp
Old Chevak Goose Camp

Old Chevak ancestral church reborn as research site in 1986 for 25 year cooperative banding program where Chevak youth worked with U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service capturing and banding geese and swans along the Kashunuk River on Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska.

Old Chevak ancestral church reborn as research site in 1986 for 25 year cooperative banding program where Chevak youth worked with U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service capturing and banding geese and swans along the Kashunuk River on Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska.

Image: Goose Roundup
Goose Roundup
Goose Roundup
Goose Roundup

Chevak youth help funnel Cackling Geese into holding pen for banding.

Chevak youth help funnel Cackling Geese into holding pen for banding.

Image: Sea Star Succumbing to Sea Star Wasting Disease
Sea Star Succumbing to Sea Star Wasting Disease
Sea Star Succumbing to Sea Star Wasting Disease
Sea Star Succumbing to Sea Star Wasting Disease

Unlike their smiling cartoon brethren on television, since 2013, real-life sea stars have been suffering from a wasting disease epidemic in which they lose limbs and literally disintegrate in a matter of days. 

Unlike their smiling cartoon brethren on television, since 2013, real-life sea stars have been suffering from a wasting disease epidemic in which they lose limbs and literally disintegrate in a matter of days. 

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