Images

The Agassiz's desert tortoise, a native of the Mojave Desert.

A pocketbook mussel (Lampsilis cardium). Native freshwater mussels are among the most fascinating, widespread, and endangered animals in fresh waters. They play important ecological roles in our lakes and rivers and their shells are used to produce cultured pearls.

This image of a live silver carp egg specimen was taken with a microscope camera at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center. Asian carp are invasive species that could pose substantial environmental risks and economic impacts if they become established.

This image of a live silver carp larva was taken with a microscope camera at the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center. Asian carp are invasive species that could pose substantial environmental risks and economic impacts if they become established.

A photomicrograph depicting the siliceous frustules of fifty species of diatoms arranged within a circular shape. The image has been inverted to white on black to bring out details. Diatoms form the base of many marine and aquatic foodchains and upon death, their glassy frustules form sediments known as diatomaceous earth.

Well-defined boundaries and crevasses are apparent in this photo of Shepard Glacier when its mass filled the cirque in 1913. (W.C. Alden)

A Food Security Assessment in Somalia found severe impacts on livestock due to drought conditions.

This adolescent chick, hatched and raised at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, is one of ten whooping cranes being released in Louisiana in February 2011. It is a milestone for the state and for the birds, which have not lived in the state since the 1950s.

This adolescent chick, hatched and raised at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, is one of ten whooping cranes being released in Louisiana in February 2011. It is a milestone for the state and for the birds, which have not lived in the state since the 1950s.

This adolescent chick, hatched and raised at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, is one of ten whooping cranes being released in Louisiana in February 2011. It is a milestone for the state and for the birds, which have not lived in the state since the 1950s.

The U.S.

The Westhope, ND gage house along the Souris River.

USGS gage house located near Bantry, ND.

Front gates at Shumagin Geomagnetic Observatory during installation, before landscaping to eliminate standing water.

A Kelp Crab (Pugettia producta) captured in a beach seine during a 2012 Bainbridge Island larval forage fish survey.  This survey focused on the abundance, habitat use, and food habits of larval forage fish (surf smelt and sand lance) and was conducted by scientists from the Columbia River Research Laboratory -Western Fisheries Research Center.

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

Palila (Loxioides bailleui). Photo by USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center.

Weir control at Beaver Creek below Linton, North Dakota.  For more information on the use of weirs to aid in the determination of streamflow, see volumes 1 and 2 of the USGS Water Supply Paper, Measurement and Computation of Streamflow.

A hydraulic fracturing operation is underway at this drilling pad in the Marcellus Shale gas play of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Unused and spent perforating gun used in oil and gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing. The pipe on the bottom left, shows holes created by the explosive charges mounted inside the pipe.

Bakken drilling and completion activities at a well along Interstate-94, 6 miles east of Belfield, North Dakota.