Images

A USGS topographer works with a leveling instrument. The umbrella prevents temperature fluctuations that could affect the leveling bubble in his instrument. The man on the ground is recording elevation data.

A USGS topographer poses with his leveling instrument.

Scientists examine the teeth of Brutus, a wolf being studied by USGS scientists, for patterns of wear that indicate age. The front incisors are worn without their lateral cusps present. The canines show some wear and are becoming rounded and stained but still maintain most of their length. One canine tip has been broken.

Native Americans of the Miwok tribe in the northern Sierra Nevada, California carved these basins into the granite bedrock to produce salt for trade. They filled the basins with water from a salt spring and let the water evaporate, leaving a salt residue in the basin. The basins are about a meter in diameter and span the area of a football field.

Brutus, a radio-tagged wolf being studied by USGS scientists, is a member of a pack of at least 12 adults and an unknown number of pups.

A mother wolf carries an errant pup back to their den.

Massachusetts inner continental shelf bottom photograph showing seafloor life.

This photograph is of Canadian Coast Guard ship Louis S. St. Laurent alongside U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean. The U.S. and Canada are mapping the Arctic seafloor and gathering data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf.

Bald Cypress trees are iconic symbols of wetlands, but their distribution and range may be vulnerable to climate change impacts.

Fireweed after fire in Alaska

Block of Ice on Vitus Lake, from Bering Glacier, Alaska

Foothills of the Front Range, Denver, CO

Calm Lake Michigan morning while sampling dead and dying fish for viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV). This virus has recently emerged in the Great Lakes and caused severe epidemics in many fish species.

Quinault tribal netpen facility in Lake Quinault, for rearing steelhead trout and chinook salmon

Sunrise on the North Platte River at Broadwater, Nebraska. Looking downstream from Hwy 92 bridge. January 2007.

Establishing a release site for salmonids implanted with radio transmitters. Behavior and movement of salmon are monitored as they migrate through the Toutle River.

Retreating glacier south of Mt. Pendleton in Denali National Park, Alaska, with runoff from glacial melt seen in the foreground.

Picture taken while climbing Mt. Hood, Oregon, at sunset looking east.

The North face of Middle Sister and Hayden Glacier, in Three Sisters Wilderness, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon. This Picture was taken while climbing Middle Sister. Middle Sister is also known as "Hope" and is an extinct stratovolcano.

This image is of two polar bears cuddled together on a piece of Arctic sea ice, surrounded by ocean water and thin layers of sea ice. This image allows for a deeper understanding of the endangered species and highlights the need for USGS research to help in their protection.

This photograph is of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean, where USGS scientists are helping map the Arctic seafloor and gather data to help define the outer limits of the continental shelf. The U.S. and Canada are working together in this mission, and the U.S. effort is through the U.S.