Images

Release of 80,000 cfs from Oahe Dam, near Pierre SD on May 27, 2011.  This is the largest release since Oahe Reservoir Filled in 1959.  Releases are expected to increase to 150,000 cfs before mid-June.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Bridge in Bismarck, ND, with high waters of the Missouri River.

The Keelboat Park Boat Ramp in Bismarck, ND, underwater while the Missouri River keeps rising.

The Little Missouri River at Watford City, North Dakota, on May 26, 2011.

The USGS streamgage at the Baton Rouge City Docks.

Tiger Dams line the Baton Rouge Mississippi River levee during the 2011 Flood.  Previously used to prevent oil from reaching Louisiana's coast during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, these Tiger Dams are filled with water and reinforced with sandbags to give the Baton Rouge Mississippi River levee an extra foot of height.  This additional height is pr

USGS hydrologist Todd Baumann makes a streamflow measurement of the Mississippi River aboard the Butta Bean during the 2011 Flood. USGS makes streamflow measurements by using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), which emits soundwaves through the water column.  These soundwaves rebound off particles in the water until they reach the river bottom.

USGS Water Science Center Director George Arcement demonstrates the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to legislative staffers. USGS uses the ADCP to make streamflow measurements. The ADCP emits soundwaves through the water column, which rebound off particles in the water until they reach the river bottom.

High waters in the Yellowstone River at Glendive, Montana.

USGS crews aboard the Butta Bean measure streamflow on the Mississippi River during the 2011 Flood. At the height of the flood, USGS crews are out every other day taking streamflow measurements to ensure the US Army Corps of Engineers has accurate, up-to-date information with which to base its river management decisions.

USGS Louisiana Water Science Center Director George Arcement shows the locations of USGS' streamgage network to WAFB Meteorologist Jay Grymes.  USGS maintains more than 30 real-time streamgages throughout the area affected by the 2011 Flood.

Bridge over the Yellowstone River at Glendive, Montana.

The Butta Bean-150, one of the USGS Louisiana Water Science Center's fleet.  She measures 23 feet long and is used to take streamflow and water quality measurements.

Water flowing through the Great Salt Lake breach in 2011, when lake levels were high due to above average snowfall in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains. The Great Salt Lake breach is an area that allows water to travel between the southern and northern parts of the lake.

A camp lies flooded on the edge of the Florida Gas Canal. Rising floodwaters during the 2011 flood have inundated many hunting camps and residences. Flooded even before the additional water from the Morganza Spillway arrived, these camps were built on land that is usually well above the water level and safely back from the canal's edge.

A view of the north end of Lake Murphy on the East Side of the Atchafalaya Basin. This section of Lake Murphy is home to a stand of young cypress trees that have successfully colonized an area. Cypress trees are known as a climax species, as their presence often indicates an area that has stabilized with nutrients and water flow.

Left to Right: Bill Stiles, Penny Frederick, George Arcement, Dan Kroes, Phil Turnipseed

A herd of deer swim across the Atchafalaya River (Main Channel). Rising floodwaters have forced many creatures from their traditional habitats.  Deer, raccoons, alligators, and many other traditionally forest-dwelling creatures have been seen swimming across areas that had formerly been dry land.

A USGS streamgage station lies mostly submerged. Following rising floodwaters during the 2011 flood, USGS crews removed sensitive streamgage equipment and replaced them with special, pressure-operated streamgage monitoring equipment that could survive being inundated with water.

Ten minutes of larval sampling in the Missouri River on May 24, 2011, resulted in this mass of organic debris and fish eggs.

Left to Right: Bill Stiles, Dan Kroes