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Acknowledging or Crediting USGS

Most U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) information resides in the Public Domain and may be used without restriction. When using information from USGS information products, publications, or websites, we ask that proper credit be given. Acknowledging or crediting the USGS as an information source can be provided by including a line of text citation such as those shown below. Note that some non USGS photographs, images, and/or graphics are used by the USGS with permission from the copyright holder. To use these copyrighted materials, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder under the copyright law.

If you are an outside organization that has a cooperative partnership or contractual agreement with the USGS that will result in the creation of various information products and you plan to use the trademarked USGS identifier, refer to the use of the trademarked USGS identifier by non-USGS organizations for guidance.

When Using USGS Information at No Cost

  • (Product or data name) courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
  • (Photograph) courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
    Example: dlvg32 software courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

When Purchasing and Reproducing USGS Information for Resale

  • Data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey
  • (Product or data name) produced by the U.S. Geological Survey
  • (Data name) data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey

When Packaging USGS Information with Non-USGS Products for Resale

  • (Product or data name) produced by the U.S. Geological Survey

When Value-Adding to USGS Information for Resale

  • Source of (product or data name): U.S. Geological Survey
  • U.S. Geological Survey (product or data name) used in compiling this information 
    Example: Source of Parkfield seismic data: U.S. Geological Survey

Optional Statement

The following statement may be added after an acknowledgment or credit:

Visit the USGS at https://usgs.gov.