Images

Looking up at a drone hovering near an open-path methane analyzer mounted on a flux tower. Instruments mounted on both the towers and on the drones are measuring gases emitted from the soil.

Geophysical investigations of Mountain Pass, California, were conducted as part of an effort to study regional crustal structures as an aid to understanding the geologic framework and mineral resources of the eastern Mojave Desert. The study area encompasses Mountain Pass, which is host to one of the world’s largest rare earth element (REE) carbonatite deposits.

A panoramic view of the Columbia River and Miller Island near the eastern end of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The island and cliff walls on both sides of the Columbia River are composed of stacked lava flows of the Columbia River Basalt Group. 

Geologists from the USGS and the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources examining a carbonatite dike in the Lemitar Mountains, New Mexico

Virginia McLemore, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, discussing a carbonatite dike in the Lemitar Mountains, New Mexico

Rain clouds at twilight over the Norhtern Bristol Mountains. THese types of winter storms provide water to the desert ecosystem, but are not usually intense enough to transport sediment or do other geomorphic work.

Lineations on a vertical fault strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone, exposed in the northern Soda Mountains, Mojave Desert, southern California. The fault can be seen cutting both late Tertiary sand and gravel units, but is buried by an overlying mid-Pleistocene alluvial gravel deposit.

Research Geologist Jonathan Perkins adjusting tension in infiltrometer to evaluate post-fire recovery conditions in the Pepperwood Preserve, Santa Rosa, CA following the October 2017 Tubbs Fire to better understand how landscapes heal after wildfire. 

The natural oil seep in this photo is located in Pescadero Creek County Park, where the Canyon Trail crosses Tarwater Creek. The oil is black, has a taffy-like consistency, and smells like motor oil.

The Half Moon Bay oil field is one of the oldest oil fields in California and was first developed during the 1880s. Since then, the field has produced an estimated 60,000 barrels of oil from about 19 wells.

Excerpt of satellite image showing landslide impacts to roads, agriculture, and a reservoir in the Lares Municipality. Points identify the approximate location of roads visibly impacted by landslides. Image filename contains approximate latitude and longitude of this impact location.

This is a view to the southwest from the top of the piedmont on the eastern side of the Avawatz Mountains, ~25 km northwest of Baker, CA.

USGS Scientist sampling soil gasses from a grassy hilltop soil on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California. The composition of soil gasses is indicative of the number and variety of microorganisms in the soil and what type of material they are digesting.

Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.

Left: USGS research hydrologist Mark Reid (left) and USGS research geologist Kevin Schmidt collect GPS data along the Big Sur coast on September 19, 2007. Photo credit: Maiana Hanshaw, USGS (now with swisstopo).

This is an example of a boulder that is part of a glacial deposit in the southern Sawatch Mountains of Colorado. The moraine slopes down to the left side of the frame; this slope is modified from teh original depositional shape of the moraine deposit.

A view east from Munra Point, Oregon showing Bonneville Dam, the Bonneville landslide, and snowy Mount Adams in the hazy distance.

Research Geologist Geoff Phelps measuring basalt flow thickness and magnetic susceptibility of individual basalt flows of the Broadwell Mesa Basalt in the central Mojave Desert near Ludlow, CA. 

Research Geologist Kevin Schmidt and Geoff Phelps examine satellite imagery on tablet computers during geologic mapping field work near Broadwell Mesa while supported by mule pack train.  

USGS scientist, Mark Reid, in front of the exact place where the main body of the landslide, composed of glacial lacustrine clay, overrode the liquified alluvium of the river valley.

The lower Colorado River supports a verdant delta at the upper end of Lake Havasu, a reservoir on the Arizona-California border. Lake Havasu filled in 1938 following the completion of Parker Dam.