Images

Heavy rains from a tropical cyclone struck the islands of the Comoros in March, 2014. On the island of Anjouan in the Union of Comoros, these rains triggered landslides that displaced over 3000 people to refugee camps. The USGS and the OFDA with USAID are providing support and research assistance on these events.

Heavy rains from a tropical cyclone struck the islands of the Comoros in March, 2014. On the island of Anjouan in the Union of Comoros, these rains triggered landslides that displaced over 3000 people to refugee camps. The USGS and the OFDA with USAID are providing support and research assistance on these events.

Fredericksburg geomagnetic observatory.

Shipwrecks and other artificial structures increase the potential for large invasions of unwanted species into coral reefs, even relatively pristine ones. In this picture, a shipwreck in the remote Palmyra Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean resulted in the dense colonization of an invasive coral-like species called Rhodactis howesii, pictured here.

Sand Dune Cape Henlopen, Delaware.

USGS personnel at work using acoustic doppler on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

Acoustic doppler used to record measurements on Wild Rice River during 2010 flood. Photo taken from bridge at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

USGS personnel at work using acoustic doppler on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

USGS personnel at work on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

USGS personnel at work on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

A well-engineered high rise apartment and two-story building in Talca, Chile suffered no evident damage, though much of the city was affected by the M 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010. Many buildings in this city were constructed with adobe or masonry and suffered major collapse.

A one hundred year old adobe building in Talca, Chile suffered near-total collapse during the M 8.8 earthquake on Feb. 27, 2010. Adobe, which is made of clay, sand and straw, is no longer used as a building material in Chile, but ancient structures are still common and can pose a hazard to their occupants.

USGS personnel at work on bridge over Wild Rice River. Photo taken at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

Home surrounded by floodwater from Wild Rice River. Photo taken from bridge at 174th Ave and 124th St southwest of Horace, ND.

The tsunami generated by the M 8.8 earthquake carried many boats onto land - in some cases hundreds of meters inland. The tsunami wave height at this location in Concepcion Harbor (Talcahuano), Chile was about 4-5 meters (12-15 feet).

This photo shows a landslide that deposited disaggregated limestone fragments in river valley.

A Landslide dam located 15 km northwest of Jacmel. The dam has breached and should pose no future hazard.

Mount Hood, Oregon, viewed from the northwest at Lost Lake.

Fireweed gains a foothold in a burn area of the White Mountains in Alaska.

Students climb out of ravine on north flank of Augustine Volcano during descent from sampling the 2006 lava flow during 2010 summer field campaign.

A massive Coulter pine that was burned in the 2007 Lake Arrowhead/Grass Valley wildfires stands alone on a hillside regrown with Manzanita, dwarfing USGS Western Ecological Research Center director Steven Schwarzbach.