How should I cite a USGS website or publication?

The USGS does not require a specific format when citing our websites. You should follow the citation guidelines provided by instructors or publication editors as appropriate.

Unless you're citing a specific USGS publication, the author of a USGS website is almost always "U.S. Geological Survey." Also acceptable: "United States Geological Survey" or "USGS."

Most USGS informational websites are updated/published daily, so you can generally use the current date as the publication date. For online datasets, you can also look in the metadata for a "last modified" date.

Website citation examples:

U.S. Geological Survey, 2020, Earthquake Lists, Maps, and Statistics, accessed March 18, 2020 at URL https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/earthquake-hazards/lists-maps-and-statistics

U.S. Geological Survey, 2018, Water Science School: Acid Rain and Water at https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/acid-rain-and-water. (Accessed May 14, 2018)

U.S. Geological Survey, 2020, National Water Information System data available on the World Wide Web (USGS Water Data for the Nation), accessed January 10, 2020, at URL https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/
 

The USGS does not require a specific format when citing our publications so again follow the citation guidelines provided by instructors or publication editors. A general format for citing publications goes something like:

Author(s), year published, publication title, volume title (if in a volume), agency name, publication series and number, number of pages and/or sheets if a map, scale if a map, website

Publication Citation Examples:

Wojtowicz, T., 2024, U.S. Geological Survey Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center science highlights for fiscal year 2023: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2024–3012, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20243012

Csejtey, B., Jr., Mullen, M.W., Cox, D.P., and Stricker, G.D., 1992, Geology and geochronology of the Healy quadrangle, south-central Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1961, 63 p., 2 sheets, scales 1:250,000 and 1:360,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/i1961

White, T., Sunderlin, D., and Bradley, D., 2024, Stratigraphy, paleoflora, and tectonic setting of the Paleogene Sheep Creek volcanic field, central Alaska, in Dumoulin, J.A., ed., Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Alaska, vol. 15: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1814–G, 14 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1814G

Learn more: USGS Data Citation