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National Geospatial Program

Your Source for Topographic Information

The National Map

Data Science: Converting Data into Actionable Knowledge

Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS)

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Online Catalog

Core Science Systems Mission Area

USGS CSS serves as the primary national civilian mapping agency, including topographic and geologic mapping for Federal and State requirements, national geospatial coordination, satellite operations and remote sensing. Our products and data are necessary to understand, monitor, and detect changes that affect the Nation’s natural and agricultural resources, the economy, public safety, and security.

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National Geospatial Program

Climbing Mount McKinley

The National Geospatial Program is the Federal civilian mapping agency and provides the digital geospatial foundation for the Nation. It engages partners and communities of use to collaboratively produce consistent and accurate topographic map data.

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Science Synthesis, Analysis and Research Program

Front side of the Denali and Tallgrass computer server racks.

The Science Synthesis Analysis, and Research (SSAR) Program provides analysis and synthesis of scientific data and information, interdisciplinary research to improve understanding of Earth system changes, and preservation of scientific data and samples and library collections.

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News

Our Research on a Tire Chemical and its Impact on Fish Featured in LakeLine Magazine

Our Research on a Tire Chemical and its Impact on Fish Featured in LakeLine Magazine

Nighttime Imaging Grows Landsat’s Science Value

Nighttime Imaging Grows Landsat’s Science Value

Landsat 9 Products Impacted by 2025 Safehold Now Available

Landsat 9 Products Impacted by 2025 Safehold Now Available

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Publications

Adapting wildfire risk assessment for a Tribal landscape: Mount Baldy and the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona Adapting wildfire risk assessment for a Tribal landscape: Mount Baldy and the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona

Context The White Mountain Apache Tribe of the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona manages their natural and cultural resources within a perpetually wildfire-risky environment. The Tribe’s values also extend beyond those of typical risk assessments to include the importance of cultural activities and sites, various recreational and revenue values, and culturally significant species...
Authors
Aaron Daniel Russell, Todd Hawbaker, Doreen Ethelbah-Gatewood, Lucas Bair, Amanda Renee Carlson, James R. Meldrum, Seth M. Munson
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Wildland Fire Science

A new inventory and conservation assessment of United States islands A new inventory and conservation assessment of United States islands

To support conservation-focused research and management we developed a new 30-m resolution polygon data layer of the nonlacustrine and nonriverine islands of the United States, with associated attributes describing key physical and conservation geography characteristics. Islands were grouped into a three-tiered hierarchy of island regions (twelve), island provinces (twenty-eight), and...
Authors
Roger Sayre, Madeline T. Martin, Nadia Naji, Kelly B. Sides, Jill Janene Cress, Kevin Butler, Keith Van Graafeiland, Deniz Karagulle, Charlie Frye, Sean Breyer, Dawn Wright, John Klavitter, Dena Spatz, David Will, Gregg Howald, Alex Wegmann, Charlotte K. Stanley, Nick Holmes
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center

The effects of line simplification on planform geometry The effects of line simplification on planform geometry

Data on maps should retain accuracy regardless of scale. Yet, as cartographic lines are generalized, there can be impacts on properties such as topology, density, and planform geometry. Here, we investigate the use of the Scale Specific Sinuosity (S3) metric (Stanislawski et al., 2023) to evaluate the effects of line simplification on planform geometry, which is the bends of streams in...
Authors
Ethan J. Shavers, Larry Stanislawski, Barry J. Kronenfeld, Barbara P. Buttenfield
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, National Geospatial Program, National Geospatial Technical Operations Center
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Science

las moras

Las Moras Wash Restoration: Integrated Geomorphic Assessment, Modeling, Monitoring, and Adaptive Management

The Las Moras Wash, within the Santa Margarita Ranch, Altar Valley, AZ, exhibits channel incision, gully expansion, head‑cut migration, vegetation loss, and reduced hydrologic connectivity between upper watershed and floodplains.
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Western Geographic Science Center
Las Moras Wash Restoration: Integrated Geomorphic Assessment, Modeling, Monitoring, and Adaptive Management

Las Moras Wash Restoration: Integrated Geomorphic Assessment, Modeling, Monitoring, and Adaptive Management

The Las Moras Wash, within the Santa Margarita Ranch, Altar Valley, AZ, exhibits channel incision, gully expansion, head‑cut migration, vegetation loss, and reduced hydrologic connectivity between upper watershed and floodplains.
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A convective smoke plume from a managed wildfire rises above Ponderosa pine trees, New Mexico

Fire Science

Wildfires shape landscapes and affect everything from water supplies to wildlife habitats. The USGS studies fire patterns and their effects using remote sensing data to map and characterize wildland fuels, monitor fire risks, model fire behavior, forecast fire danger, and assess post-fire recovery. This work tracks spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem disturbance including wildland-urban...
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, National Land Imaging Program, Wildland Fire Science
Fire Science

Fire Science

Wildfires shape landscapes and affect everything from water supplies to wildlife habitats. The USGS studies fire patterns and their effects using remote sensing data to map and characterize wildland fuels, monitor fire risks, model fire behavior, forecast fire danger, and assess post-fire recovery. This work tracks spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem disturbance including wildland-urban...
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Large logs float in flood water

Water and Drought

Water sustains communities, agriculture, and ecosystems — and when drought strikes, the effects ripple across all of them. The USGS monitors water availability, surface water extent, and quality at regional, national, and global scales using remote sensing, watershed modeling, and evapotranspiration data. We track vegetation stress, water use, and drought impacts on wildfire risk, invasive species...
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, National Land Imaging Program
Water and Drought

Water and Drought

Water sustains communities, agriculture, and ecosystems — and when drought strikes, the effects ripple across all of them. The USGS monitors water availability, surface water extent, and quality at regional, national, and global scales using remote sensing, watershed modeling, and evapotranspiration data. We track vegetation stress, water use, and drought impacts on wildfire risk, invasive species...
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