Images

This Landsat 9 image highlights central Germany, including the Harz Mountains to the west and the cities of Magdeburg and Leipzig. The scene uses a shortwave infrared, near-infrared, and red band combination (Bands 6, 5, 4), which enhances vegetation in bright green and helps distinguish urban areas and water features.

This Landsat 9 image of northwestern Mexico, acquired March 30, 2025, uses the natural color combination of red, green, and blue spectral bands (bands 4,3,2). The scene highlights the Colorado River Delta, where desert meets irrigated farmland near San Luis Río Colorado, before flowing into the blue-green waters of the Gulf of California.

This Landsat 8 image displays the massif of the three active volcanoes that dominate Tongariro National Park, on New Zealand’s North Island.

Fort Peck Lake, a sprawling reservoir formed by the Fort Peck Dam on the Missouri River, lies in the eastern prairie region of Montana near the city of Glasgow. According to the U.S.

Mount Etna is Europe’s largest and most active volcano. Located on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, in the province of Catania, the active stratovolcano is known for its frequent and persistent eruptions. Activity can range from explosive eruptions to lava flows and ash emissions.

Mount Etna is Europe’s largest and most active volcano. Located on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, in the province of Catania, the active stratovolcano is known for its frequent and persistent eruptions. Activity can range from explosive eruptions to lava flows and ash emissions.

The Chesapeake Bay is roughly 200 miles (322 kilometers) in length and varies in width from a mere 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) near Aberdeen, Maryland, to 30 miles (48 kilometers) near Cape Charles, Virginia.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed has experienced substantial population growth over the last several decades. Since 1950, the population has more than doubled, and between 1980 and 2023, the number increased from 12.7 million to 18.6 million.

Fires swept across the greater Los Angeles area in early January, scarring more than 50,000 acres and destroying over 15,000 structures. Exceptionally dry conditions, coupled with strong Santa Ana winds, fueled the fires. 

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast, it runs north-south from the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, Maryland, to the Atlantic Ocean near Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles (166,000 square kilometers) and encompasses parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia—and the District of Columbia.

On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Winter Storm Enzo brought an exceptionally rare snowfall to the Greater Houston metro area of Texas. The National Weather Service reported 5.5 inches (14 cm) in Baytown, a city located east of Houston on the northern shore of Galveston Bay. Other cities and locales received upwards of 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm).

These animations are from the Wragg Fire that occurred north of San Francisco, California, in 2015. On the left is Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection, or LCMAP (v1.3), land cover, with green representing forests (tree cover). On the right is false-color Landsat satellite imagery.

The USGS provides research-quality, applications-ready Landsat Level-2 and Level-3 science products to support an array of land surface change studies. Collection 2 Level-2 scene-based science products include Surface Reflectance, Surface Temperature, Surface Reflectance-Derived Spectral Indices, and Provisional Aquatic Reflectance.

Louisiana is home to numerous salt domes, including the five distinct coastal salt dome islands that can be found in the southern part of the state near the Gulf of America. Formed by the upward pressure of ancient salt deposits, these hills rise above the surrounding marshes and coastal plains of Louisiana.

The tragic fires sweeping across the Greater Los Angeles area in January 2025 have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,300 structures, and prompted evacuation orders and warnings for as many as 200,000 residents. Exceptionally dry conditions, coupled with strong Santa Ana winds, have fueled the fires.

The USGS EROS Landsat archive recently reached a milestone of 12 million Landsat Collection 2 Level-1 products. These are available for download at no charge.  The image representing this milestone displays a sprawling desert landscape and contains a multitude of agricultural, geological, and urban features.

The tragic fires sweeping across the Greater Los Angeles area have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,300 structures, and prompted evacuation orders and warnings for as many as 200,000 residents. Exceptionally dry conditions, coupled with strong Santa Ana winds, have fueled the fires.

Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 kicked off 2025 by acquiring over 1,400 scenes on the first of January. This Landsat 9 image of Emi Koussi in the Tibesti Range of Chad is a mosaic of two of the many scenes collected. Emi Koussi is an extinct shield volcano that rises to 11,204 feet (3,415 meters) above sea level, making it the highest summit in Chad and the Sahara Desert.

On December 12, 2024, heavy lake effect snow blanketed the Buffalo, New York metro area with over 2 feet accumulating in less than 24 hours. This area normally receives heavy snowfall each year during the Northern Hemisphere winter months due to being situated along the shore of Lake Erie. 

The Wind River Range, located in west-central Wyoming, is a unique wilderness area that rises from the high plains of the South Pass of the Continental Divide and runs northwest to the Yellowstone Plateau. The Winds, as they are affectionately known, are exceptionally long, wide, high, rugged, and remote.