Images

During major storms or other short-term events, the USGS collects streamflow and additional data (including storm tide, wave height, high-water marks, and additional sensor deployments) to aid in documenting flood events.

Map of the Upper Colorado River Basin —referred to as an Integrated Water Science (IWS) basins—are intensively monitored study basins representing a wide range of environmental, hydrologic, and landscape settings and human stressors of water resources to improve our understanding of water availability across the Nation.

Alaska Science Center Data Management staff organize, scan, and digitally archive physical data. Once published as part of a data release, the physical data are organized and placed into banker boxes, labeled with pertinent information, such as the data release DOI, and moved to a secure location.

Klamath River Basin straddles northern California and southern Oregon. The Klamath River empties into the Pacific Ocean just below the Oregon/California border.

A lake temperature profile showing two years of temperature data by lake depth. PAtterns of summer warming and winter cooling are visible.

U.S. River Conditions, April to June 2025 thumbnail image. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring around a gage indicates it is flooding.

Rivers across northern Alaska have recently turned orange in color. Because of their appearance, they are often called “rusting rivers.”

Clicking on a flood feature icon in the USGS Real-Time Flood Impact Map will display information about that Flood Impact Location, the current conditions at the nearby USGS streamgage, and the USGS HIVIS webcam image (if available). For example, this Flood Impact Location in St.

USGS staff inspecting monitoring equipment in Suicide Basin. Suicide Basin is a side basin of the Mendenhall Glacier above Juneau, Alaska.

Floodwaters reach near the base of the I-35 bridge over Leon Creek, Texas on June 12, 2025. 

For over 15 years, the USGS has provided machine-readable and automated access to water data via the WaterServices family of APIs.

USGS WaterAlert is a free service that notifies subscribers of changing water conditions. Alerts can identify potentially dangerous situations like flows that are too high or too low to safely fish or kayak.

Water is one of America's greatest assets, providing energy, irrigation for crops, and water for homes and businesses. But water isn't always safe or reliable, and damages are costly. To protect lives and keep our country prosperous, we need information on the state of our water resources. USGS collects and delivers the water data our nation needs.

U.S. River Conditions, January to March 2025 thumbnail image. The river conditions shown range from the driest condition seen at a gage (red open circles) to the wettest (blue closed circles). A purple outer ring around a gage indicates it is flooding.

Selected reference basins (darker shaded basins)—referred to as Integrated Water Science (IWS) basins—are intensively monitored study basins representing a wide range of environmental, hydrologic, and landscape settings and human stressors of water resources to improve our understanding of water availability across the Nation.

Research hydrologist Tyler King of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hydrologic Remote Sensing Branch examines a water sample collected from Owyhee Reservoir in eastern Oregon, April 10, 2025. King and scientists from the U.S.

Screenshot of the USGS Real-Time Flood Impact Map on April 9, 2025, near Indianapolis, IN. Multiple streams and rivers experienced spring flooding, overtopping their embankments and affecting nearby roads, buildings, bridges, and more.

Groundwater hydrograph showing field measurements of depth to water level from a Climate Response Network monitoring well (USGS site 433112075091501) located in Oneida County, New York.

A USGS water expert performs maintenance on a streamgage upstream of a water-treatment facility in Batesville, Arkansas on April 5, 2025.

Map of federally funded national groundwater Climate Response Network (CRN) sites. U.S. Climate divisions shaded in blue contain a CRN site; climate divisions in gray do not have a CRN site (as of 2025).

How much water is there? This side-by-side comparison illustrates Earth’s water, including total water, ocean water, frozen water, groundwater, and water in lakes & rivers.