Images

More than 110 sinkholes formed in the Dover area of Florida during a freeze event in January 2010. Ground water levels dropped to record-setting lows as farmers pumped water to irrigate their plants for protection from the cold temperatures. The sinkholes destroyed homes, roads and sections of cultivated areas.

Sinkholes damage roadways and require constant maintenance for road safety. More than 110 sinkholes formed in the Dover area of Florida during a freeze event in January 2010. Ground water levels dropped to record-setting lows as farmers pumped water to irrigate their plants for protection from the cold temperatures.

Sediment can smother corals, but Hurricane Hole has no sediment-bearing freshwater streams. Its clear waters are habitat for an entire community of marine life, including Montastrea corals and squirrelfish. Photo: Caroline Rogers, USGS, 2009

The former Pigeon Mine in northern Arizona is seen here looking towards the northeast.

Uranium levels in Pigeon Spring, just north of the Grand Canyon, are likely due to a natural source of uranium and not related to the nearby former Pigeon Mine, according to a recent study by the USGS.

Here, Pigeon Spring emerges in Pigeon Canyon just before it merges with Snake Gulch in northern Arizona. 

Uranium levels in Pigeon Spring, just north of the Grand Canyon, are likely due to a natural source of uranium and not related to the nearby former Pigeon Mine, according to a recent study by the USGS.

Wright's Creek gage and flood. 

Choctawhatchee River and gage in late December flood looking downstream. 

An aerial view looking north at two active areas of Kīlauea. Pu`u `Ō `ō crater is in the foreground, Mauna Loa (left) and Mauna Kea (right) are in the background. The fume source near the base of Mauna Loa (at Kīlauea's summit) is from the Halema`uma`u Overlook vent.

Tracking/monitoring movement of juvenile salmonids implanted with radio transmitters as they migrate down the Columbia River to the ocean.

This large rock at the Kīlauea Overlook in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was ejected ballistically in 1790, or soon thereafter, from Kilauea Volcano's summit caldera when it was more than 600 meters (2000 feet) deep.

USGS employees release radio-tagged salmon smolts into the Columbia River below the sluiceway outfall at The Dalles Dam.

Red Hill Bay Marina, Salton Sea, California.

The seedlings of Red Mangrove trees germinate from fruits while still attached to the trees. Here many are growing within the roots of adult trees.

Red Hill Bay Marina exposed playa near the Salton Sea, California.

Native copper. The USGS studies processes that form copper deposits and reports global production and consumption.

USGS scientists strategize near the Rooster Rock boat launch en route to Skamania Landing to collect fish for the Columbia River Contaminants and Habitat Study.

People pictured from the left: Glen Holmberg, Leticia Torres, Conrad Frost, Elena Nilsen.

A geothermal power plant at The Geysers near Santa Rosa, California. The USGS researches and assesses geothermal resources.

Late fall in the North Dakota Badlands on the Little Missouri River near Medora.

USGS Gage house reflected in Cedar Creek near Haynes, North Dakota.

Path left by debris flow moving down a channel. The debris flow was generated in response to a rainstorm on November 12, 2009 in Arroyo Seco, southern California.

This five volume set of materials, publshed in 1842, features hand-colored plates of the reptiles found in North America early in the history of the nation.