Images

Anabena algal bloom in Timothy Lake, Oregon, 2004

Roaring Spring on the McKenzie River, Oregon

USGS scientist collecting samples at Crater Lake, Oregon.

Lower Tualatin River near Cook Park, OR. Signage on the top of the wood pole shows high water line of the 1996 flood.

Thermal infrared mosaic of Quartzville Creek, OR. These images were captured on the year 2000 as part of an airborne thermal infrared survey conducted in the Santiam River basin, OR. The images were orthorectified and mosaicked into a single raster in order to identify and visualize thermal heterogeneity.

When Karl Lee and Mark Uhrich arrived to make a flow measurement, they found that the high-water left behind a significant debris pile at the Nehalem River near Foss, Oregon gage house.

USGS technicians, Len Reed and Mike DeVolder, measuring the flood peak on the Tualatin River at West Linn on February 10, 1996.

In February 1996, as the Willamette River threatened downtown Portland, Mayor Vera Katz rallied over 1,500 volunteers to build "Vera's Wall". This mile-long, four-foot-high temporary levee, made of 40,000 sandbags, plywood, and jersey barriers, was hastily constructed atop the existing seawall in just 24 hours and successfully held back the floodwaters.

Willamette Falls during the February 1996 flood. The falls, usually about 12 meters high in a horseshoe shape, were reduced to a small riffle.

A 1996 flood photo depicts the swollen Willamette River at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, Oregon, during the region's most destructive flood since 1964. The left side shows a wall of sandbags, wood, and jersey barriers, successfully protecting the downtown area. Iconic city bridges span the background.

This photo shows the Willamette River at its peak flood stage in February 1996, a major event for the Pacific Northwest. The river reached the very bottom of the Steel Bridge's lower deck, leading to the bridge being closed to all traffic as a safety precaution for nearly 48 hours.

Old school USGS technician operates a truck mounted crane during field work in the 1970's.

Before computers and smart phones USGS needed to employ artists for field work plans and other diagrams. Some scientists and technicians were artists themselves. This beautifully hand drawn site sketch shows the layout of the Columbia River at The Dalles monitoring station and the original acoustic streamflow measurement system, a first of its kind.

USGS field crews load up their boat with equipment on the docks of the Columbia River

Two USGS staff boat during field work on the Columbia River near The Dalles Dam.

Built-in 1937 with funds from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the 100 feet tall steel tower had a main cable that stretched 1,727 feet across the Columbia. Streamflow measurements started as soon as it was daylight to avoid the highest winds.