Images

Streamgage on the NF Skokomish River, WA.

A Landsat image after the Thomas fire in California in 2017. This image is to be used for the after image for a before and after image.

USGS Hydrologic Technician Kim Cesal measuring 3170 cfs at 12409000 Colville River at Kettle Falls, WA. This measurement is the highest made at the gaging site. The gage has been in operation since October 1922. The gage was installed to monitor flows from Meyer Falls Dam and Power Generation.

A female Chinook salmon, among the first wave of fish to recolonize waters that haven't had salmon in 100 years, excavates a nest inside Olympic National Park. 

Aerial photo by Tom Roorda of the mouth of the Elwha River near Port Angeles, Wash. 

Cableways allow hydrologic technicians to safely measure streamflow. Here, a technician measures flood waters. 

A hydrologic technician wades across the Sauk River to measure streamflow at USGS streamgage 12186000. The staff gage in front of the boulder can be used to read the water level. 

The White River flows from the base of the Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier, WA. The USGS researches the rivers and streams originating from the volcano.

A U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist holds a centrifuge bowl containing river suspended sediment for analysis of metals and organic chemicals. The sample was collected using a new in-field continuous-flow centrifugation technique to separate and collect suspended sediment from large volumes of water.

A hydrologist collects a suspended sediment sample using a continuous flow centrifuge.

The confluence of the Suiattle River (muddy river) into the Sauk River. 

Mount Rainier volcano looms over Puyallup Valley, near Orting, Washington.

This Sept. 26, 2012 image from a USGS unmanned aircraft shows the demolition of Glines Dam and Lake Mills on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Wash. 

USGS research ecologist Jeff Duda collects discharge data on a side channel of the Elwha River. Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally removed from 2011 to 2013 to restore river function in an important salmon-bearing river.

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally r

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River were incrementally r

USGS researchers Chris Curran and Raegan Huffman retrieve instrumentation to measure sediment concentration from the Elwha River, Washington. Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally removed from 2011 to 2013 to restore river function in an important salmon-bearing river.

USGS hydrologic technician James Foreman operates an electronic deployment reel from a bridge over the Elwha River, Washington. Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally removed from 2011 to 2013 to restore river function in an important salmon-bearing river.

River otters in Olympic National Park trigger a movement-activated camera without activating the wire mesh box trap (left) used by scientists to capture the animals to attach radio transmitters and monitor their movements.

USGS divers Steve Rubin and Reg Reisenbichler laying out a survey transect. Completing his 12th dive at the site in 2023, Rubin has been conducting dive surveys around the mouth of the Elwha River for over a decade as part of an evaluation of ecosystem health and recovery since the Elwha dams were breached in 2011.

Beautiful River with Mount Rainier in the background