Images

Would you know there is a boat ramp here?  Launching a boat during high water on the muddy Missouri River requires intimate knowledge of boat ramps.  The Glasgow, MO, boat ramp (pictured) is underwater when the local gage is approximately 29 feet. 

Scientist Joe Svetek pauses to record notes in his dump-truck-turned-mobile-office at one of the many seismic shot hole locations of the 2011 Salton Seismic Imaging Project.

Photo taken before Storm Event at the Laguna Cartagena USFWS Wildlife Refuge.

Following several collapses and small explosive events that deposited spatter on the floor of Halema'uma'u crater around noon, the lava surface in Halema'uma'u was roiling and agitated for the remainder of the afternoon, with numerous points of upwelling and spattering.

Absolutes and electronics buildings at Newport, WA magnetic observatory.

Damage to a village house. Longxingcun.

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck the island of Anjouan in the Union of the Comoros on March 12, 2014.  Heavy rainfall trigger landslides and damages were incurred to buildings, roads, and water supplies. As a precaution, more than 3,000 citizens were moved to a refugee camp.

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck the island of Anjouan in the Union of the Comoros on March 12, 2014.  Heavy rainfall trigger landslides and damages were incurred to buildings, roads, and water supplies. As a precaution, more than 3,000 citizens living below the landslides were moved to a refugee camp.

A crew of USGS Georgia Water Science Center hydrologic technicians had to use "alternate" transportation on Interstate 20 west of Atlanta to measure the epic 2009 Atlanta floods.

USGS videographer Steve Wessells interviews USGS scientist Dr. Robert Fisher about the ecological effects of the Harris Fire. Dulzura Creek.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.