Images

A member of the USGS Water and Fire Technicians Team repairs a streamgage during the Blue 2 Fire near Alto, New Mexico. 

The USGS Water and Fire Technicians Team prepares to evaluate precipitation and streamflow gauges during the Blue 2 Fire near Alto, New Mexico. 

Zebra mussels, an invasive species that threatens U.S. waters. Photograph Credit: Dave Britton, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Image from the inaugural U.S.-Germany Space Dialogue Space Dialogue in Berlin on June 4, 2024.

A buoy marking the location of monitoring equipment in Pool 13 of the Upper Mississippi River in 2024. The equipment is placed below the water surface to monitor waves and water clarity in the spring and summer. 

How Streamgages are Used in Postfire Flood Forecasting

Stream data is recorded in real time and posted online.

Stream data include water level, velocity, and turbidity.

During storms, rainfall data is compared to the stream data.

The National Weather Service uses the data to issue flood warnings.

Paul Laustsen at the 2024 OCAP Academy in Reston, VA.  Photo by Megan Evans.

Image of trees taken from passenger window along 170 outside of Denver before sunset. Trees appear almost black and sky is blue with pink, orange and purple clouds.

Caption: This image shows a screenshot of the online USGS National Water Dashboard.

Park off Las Vegas strip where people are surrounded by trees. People in image are seated at red tables and one person is walking in distance outside of hotel.

A view of the study area of Pool 13 of the Upper Mississippi River on a calm day from Eagle Point Park in Clinton, IA.

USGS and USFWS logos with title "An Orchestra of Conservation for the Melodies of Hakalau Forest" featured on an image of a red apapane bird against a blue sky background

Randi Owens, a USGS hydrologic technician, prepares to lower an acoustic doppler current profiler device into the South Grand River in Urich, Missouri, to measure river flooding April 29. This device uses sound waves to measure streamflow. USGS photo by Chris Drummond. 

Randi Owens, a USGS hydrologic technician, guides an acoustic doppler current profiler device across the South Grand River in Urich, Missouri, to measure river flooding April 29. USGS photo by Chris Drummond. 

The USGS installs a sensor to monitor groundwater levels in real time at a well located at the City University of New York, York College campus. 

The USGS installs a sensor to monitor groundwater levels in real time at a well located at the City University of New York, York College campus. 

The USGS installs a sensor to monitor groundwater levels in real time at a well located at the City University of New York, York College campus. 

A technician installs strong motion and high frequency sensors April 11 at a station selected to record aftershock data from the April 5, 2024 Whitehouse Station, N.J. earthquake. 

A map of the 4.8-magnitude Whitehouse Station, New Jersey earthquake, which hit the area on April 5, 2024.

U.S. Geological Survey electronics technician Greg Tanner installs an "aftershock kit" in New Jersey April 10 following the April 5, 2024 Whitehouse Station earthquake. 

U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic technician Patrick Bowen, foreground, and electronics technician Greg Tanner, background, install an "aftershock kit" in Lawrenceville, N.J., April 9 following the April 5, 2024 Whitehouse Station, N.J. earthquake.