Images

The USGS EROS Landsat archive recently reached a milestone of 12 million Landsat Collection 2 Level-1 products. These are available for download at no charge.  The image representing this milestone displays a sprawling desert landscape and contains a multitude of agricultural, geological, and urban features.

The tragic fires sweeping across the Greater Los Angeles area have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,300 structures, and prompted evacuation orders and warnings for as many as 200,000 residents. Exceptionally dry conditions, coupled with strong Santa Ana winds, have fueled the fires.

Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 kicked off 2025 by acquiring over 1,400 scenes on the first of January. This Landsat 9 image of Emi Koussi in the Tibesti Range of Chad is a mosaic of two of the many scenes collected. Emi Koussi is an extinct shield volcano that rises to 11,204 feet (3,415 meters) above sea level, making it the highest summit in Chad and the Sahara Desert.

This map shows 2024 shrub cover from the Rangeland Condition Monitoring Assessment and Projection (RCMAP) project across the McDermitt Caldera, outlined in gray, along the Nevada–Oregon border. Dark green areas indicate high shrub cover, typically found in riparian zones and at higher elevations.

Burn Severity Map of the August Complex wildfire, created by the USGS Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program. The August Complex, which burned over 1 million acres in California in 2020, is the largest wildfire in state history.

The Wind River Range, located in west-central Wyoming, is a unique wilderness area that rises from the high plains of the South Pass of the Continental Divide and runs northwest to the Yellowstone Plateau. The Winds, as they are affectionately known, are exceptionally long, wide, high, rugged, and remote.

A seamless 1-meter Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the Lower Androscoggin watershed in Maine, produced by scientists at the USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC) and USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. Elevations run from low elevation in light blue on up to tan, green, yellow, red and finally gray/white.

Landsat 8 image of Lake Thompson in South Dakota, showing a November algal bloom.

Image date: November 22, 2024
Path 30, Row 29
Band combinations: 654 (false color) to show the algal bloom, and then blended with 432 (natural color) to show the snow.

Thumbnail image for video: 1 Hour of Earth From Above: Relaxing Landsat Satellite Imagery

Watch here: https://eros.usgs.gov/media-gallery/video-landsat/landsat-1-hour-of-ima…

Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2023 Land Cover in central Florida, with black lines representing railroads that crisscross the region. Railroads are integral in the phosphate mining process.

Annual National Land Cover Database image of Land Cover for Bone Valley, Florida, in 2023. Barren land cover (gray) and ponded water (dark blue) are typical of an active mine. Natural vegetation includes grassland (light tan), pasture/hay (yellow), wetland (light blue colors) and shrubland (dark tan). Urban areas are shown in shades of red.

Annual National Land Cover Database image of Land Cover for Bone Valley, Florida, in 1985. Barren land cover (gray) and ponded water (dark blue) are typical of an active mine. Natural vegetation includes grassland (light tan), pasture/hay (yellow), wetland (light blue colors) and shrubland (dark tan). Urban areas are shown in shades of red.

Animations of land cover change using Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land cover (on the left) and Landsat true-color images (on the right). Changes to the landscape can be seen over the 38 years from 1985 to 2023.

Animations of land cover change using Annual National Land Cover Database (NLCD) land cover (on the left) and Landsat true-color images (on the right). Changes to the landscape can be seen over the 38 years from 1985 to 2023. This phosphate mine in Hamilton County, in northern Florida, expands in all directions over time, changing land cover from year to year.

This Landsat 9 image shows the Washington D.C. area on August 1, 2024. The image was created using Bands 6,5,4 and was then sharpened using the panchromatic band (Band 8) which has a higher resolution than the other bands (15 meters compared to 30 meters).

Path 15 Row 33

Landsat 8 image of the Massachusetts Coast, showing Boston, Plymouth, and Cape Cod.

Published on social media on November 28, 2024, for Thanksgiving.

Mosaic of two different Landsat 8 images:
Image dates: November 8 and 17, 2024
Path 11, Row 31 and Path 12, Row 31 

This Landsat 8 image shows the Pampanga River Delta and Manila Bay on March 6, 2024.

Landsat 8 image of South Sudan, showing portions of the states of Unity, Jonglei, and Warrup. 

Image date: October 22, 2024
Path 174, Row 54
Band combination: 654

This QuickDRI map shows the moisture and drought conditions for November 10, 2024.

Visit https://quickdri.unl.edu/data/weekly_maps/png/20241110/qdri_20241110_conus_text.png to view the full image, legend, and cooperators. 

A large, round lake in Quebec, Canada, highlights the geography of an ancient impact crater. In the late Triassic Period, a 3 mile wide meteorite struck northern Pangea at over 30,000 miles per hour. The resulting crater is now 214 million years old, but the dramatic circular lake visible in 2024 Landsat imagery is a surprisingly recent feature.

Landsat 8 image of the Henry Mountains in southeastern Utah. 

Published on social media on November 7, 2024.

Mosaic of two different Landsat 8 images:
Image date: June 16, 2024
Path 37, Row 33 and Path 37, Row 34