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How can I find USGS historical photographs?

The USGS Photographic Library, located at our library in Denver, Colorado, is an archive of still photographs dating from the 1870s and taken by USGS scientists as part of their field studies.

The works of pioneer photographers W.H. Jackson, T.H. O’Sullivan, Carleton Watkins, J.K. Hillers, Thomas Moran, A.J. Russell, E.O. Beaman, and William Bell are represented in the collection. Topics include USGS personnel, earthquakes, volcanoes, geologic hazards and other phenomena, historical mining operations, and earth science photographs.

Use the online USGS Photographic Library to access digital copies of photographs selected from the collection. Since only a portion of the collection’s 400,000 images are online, researchers are welcome to visit in person to view the collection, or our librarians can check the collection for you. For more information, call 303-236-1010.

A limited number of historical photographs are also in our online Multimedia Gallery and on USGS social media platforms like flickr and Instagram.

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Alaska Surveying

Does the Geographic Names Information System database contain entries for obsolete names and geographic features that no longer exist?

Yes, The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) actively seeks names of features that no longer exist. The term "historical" as used in the GNIS specifically means that the feature no longer exists on the landscape. An abandoned ghost town, for example, still exists so it is not historical. Historical features have no reference to age, size, condition, extent of habitation, type of use, or any...

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Does the Geographic Names Information System database contain entries for obsolete names and geographic features that no longer exist?

Yes, The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) actively seeks names of features that no longer exist. The term "historical" as used in the GNIS specifically means that the feature no longer exists on the landscape. An abandoned ghost town, for example, still exists so it is not historical. Historical features have no reference to age, size, condition, extent of habitation, type of use, or any...

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Men sitting around a table beside a wagon in 1870 Wyoming

Where can I find historical photographs from the Great Surveys of the American West?

A number of images from the "Great Surveys of the American West" can be downloaded through the online USGS Photographic Library. Before the USGS was established by Congress as a part of the Department of Interior, four surveys of the western United States took place between 1867 and 1879. Surveys led by Ferdinand Hayden and John Wesley Powell were sponsored by the Interior Department, and Surveys...

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Where can I find historical photographs from the Great Surveys of the American West?

A number of images from the "Great Surveys of the American West" can be downloaded through the online USGS Photographic Library. Before the USGS was established by Congress as a part of the Department of Interior, four surveys of the western United States took place between 1867 and 1879. Surveys led by Ferdinand Hayden and John Wesley Powell were sponsored by the Interior Department, and Surveys...

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Publications Warehouse

How can I find out-of-print USGS publications?

Out-of-print USGS publications and maps, depending on series and date, can be obtained in various ways: Check the USGS Publications Warehouse for online availability. If the publication is listed but does not have a link to a digital version, contact the Publications Warehouse Team to request a digital copy. Borrow from your local public, academic, or corporate library through a request for...

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How can I find out-of-print USGS publications?

Out-of-print USGS publications and maps, depending on series and date, can be obtained in various ways: Check the USGS Publications Warehouse for online availability. If the publication is listed but does not have a link to a digital version, contact the Publications Warehouse Team to request a digital copy. Borrow from your local public, academic, or corporate library through a request for...

Learn More
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Image: Treasures of the USGS Library: Rare Book Room

How can I find publications of the USGS?

The USGS Publications Warehouse is an online catalog for searching all USGS publications and downloading free digital versions. USGS Libraries contain sets of all USGS publications plus many state geological survey publications. The public go in person to any USGS library to do research, but USGS library materials can only be borrowed by placing a request with your local library for Interlibrary...

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How can I find publications of the USGS?

The USGS Publications Warehouse is an online catalog for searching all USGS publications and downloading free digital versions. USGS Libraries contain sets of all USGS publications plus many state geological survey publications. The public go in person to any USGS library to do research, but USGS library materials can only be borrowed by placing a request with your local library for Interlibrary...

Learn More
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USGS Embudo Personnel

Why does the USGS use the spelling "gage" instead of "gauge"?

The spelling of “gage” is part of our very rich USGS history. In 1888, USGS Director John Wesley Powell met a very forward-thinking graduate student named Frederick Haynes Newell. Powell was so impressed that he made Newell the first full-time appointee to the new Irrigation Survey, which was created to investigate the potential for dams and canals in the western United States.At that time, there...

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Why does the USGS use the spelling "gage" instead of "gauge"?

The spelling of “gage” is part of our very rich USGS history. In 1888, USGS Director John Wesley Powell met a very forward-thinking graduate student named Frederick Haynes Newell. Powell was so impressed that he made Newell the first full-time appointee to the new Irrigation Survey, which was created to investigate the potential for dams and canals in the western United States.At that time, there...

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Image: USGS Cartographer at Work
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Image: USGS Cartographer at Work
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Image: USGS Topographic Field Party
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Image: USGS Topographer at Work
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Image: USGS Topographer at Work
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USGS Embudo Personnel
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Image: USGS Topographers at Work
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Filter Total Items: 16

A history of the Water Resources Branch of the United States Geological Survey: volume 4, years of World War II, July 1, 1939 to June 30, 1947

This period extends from July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1947, and is called the years of World War II, although it was not until December 1941 that the United States entered the war which began in Europe in September 1939. By the beginning of the period, it was evident that this country might be drawn into the conflict and a rearmament program including the draft act , effective in September 1940, was

Minerals, lands, and geology for the common defence and general welfare, Volume 4, 1939-1961: A history of geology in relation to the development of public-land, federal science, and mapping policies and the development of mineral resources in the United

The fourth volume of the comprehensive history of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is titled “Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defence and General Welfare—Volume 4, 1939‒1961.” The title is based on a passage in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. The late Mary C. Rabbitt (1915‒2002), a geophysicist who served with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1948‒1949) and the USGS (1949‒19
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Descriptive catalogue of the photographs of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories for the years 1869 to 1873: Miscellaneous Publications - No. 5

Miscellaneous Publications of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories is comprised of No. 1-12, some with multiple editions.  A 1st and 2nd edition of No. 5 were published in 1874 and 1875 respectively.  Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden is the United States geologist in charge of this series.  List of publications, with contents of each, and author and subject index may b

A history of the Water Resources Branch of the United States Geological Survey: vol. II, years of increasing cooperation, July 1, 1919 to June 30, 1928

This volume of the History of the Water Resources Branch of the United States Geological Survey by Robert Follansbee covers the period from July 1, 1919, to June 30, 1928. In conformity with the practice followed in the first volume of the "History" Mr. Follansbee has named this volume "Years of Increasing Cooperation."
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Water Resources

A history of the Water Resources Branch of the United States Geological Survey: vol. III years of 50-50 cooperation, July 1, 1928 to June 30, 1939

The 11-year period from July 1, 1928, to June 30, 1939, was one of violent contrasts , both naturall and man-made; great floods and severe droughts occurred and great industrial activity 'W'as· succeeded by deep and persistent depression which droughts made even more devastating. It spans the· time from the first year of 50-50 cooperation with the States, to the last year that Nathan C. Grover was
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A 125 year history of topographic mapping and GIS in the U.S. Geological Survey 1884-2009, part 1: 1884-1980

On December 4–5, 1884, John Wesley Powell persuaded the U.S. Congress to authorize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to begin systematic topographic mapping of the United States.
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Images of the U.S. Geological Survey, 1879-1979

This collection of photographs reflects 100 years of public service by the U.S. Geological Survey since its founding on March 3, 1879: "... for the classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of the national domain."

Celebrating 125 years of the U.S. Geological Survey

In the 125 years since its creation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has provided the science information needed to make vital decisions and safeguard society. In this anniversary year, we celebrate the mission that has guided us, the people and traditions that have shaped us, and the science and technology that will lead us into the future. Through a wealth of long-term data and research, w

Digital archive : previously unpublished expedition sketches by Henry W. Elliott united with the Preliminary field report of the United States Geological Survey of Colorado and New Mexico, 1869, by F.V. Hayden

Records and history of the United States Geological Survey

This publication contains two presentations in Portable Document Format (PDF). The first is Renee M. Jaussaud's inventory of the documents accessioned by the end of 1997 into Record Group 57 (Geological Survey) at the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Archives II facility in College Park, Md., but not the materials in NARA's regional archives. The second is Mary C. Rabbitt's 'T
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The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989

The United States Geological Survey was established on March 3, 1879, just a few hours before the mandatory close of the final session of the 45th Congress, when President Rutherford B. Hayes signed the bill appropriating money for sundry civil expenses of the Federal Government for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1879. The sundry civil expenses bill included a brief section establishing a new a
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A history of the Water Resources Branch, U.S. Geological Survey; Volume I, from predecessor surveys to June 30, 1919

This volume is the first in a series of chronological summaries of the activities and achievements of the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey. First published in 1939 through private subscription by interested personnel, Volume I is now available as a public document. The manuscripts of the following three volumes that cover the years 1919-47, all by the author of this volume, w
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Historical Maps at Your Fingertips

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USGS Continues to Write History

The fourth volume of the comprehensive history of the U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals, Lands, and Geology for the Common Defence and General Welfare...

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