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Explore water-related photography, imagery, and illustrations.

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Image: Cosby Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cosby Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cosby Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cosby Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cosby Creek under average flow conditions in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near the Cosby Campground near Cosby, TN

Image: Alluvial Fan, Rocky Mountain National Park
Alluvial Fan, Rocky Mountain National Park
Alluvial Fan, Rocky Mountain National Park
Alluvial Fan, Rocky Mountain National Park

The Alluvial Fan is a fan-shaped area of disturbance in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was created on July 15, 1982, when the earthen Lawn Lake Dam above the area gave way, flooding the Park and nearby town of Estes Park with more than 200 million gallons of water. Enormous boulders were displaced, and trees and earth were ripped from the ground.

The Alluvial Fan is a fan-shaped area of disturbance in Rocky Mountain National Park. It was created on July 15, 1982, when the earthen Lawn Lake Dam above the area gave way, flooding the Park and nearby town of Estes Park with more than 200 million gallons of water. Enormous boulders were displaced, and trees and earth were ripped from the ground.

Sealcoated and unsealcoated pavement
Black sealcoat contrasts with unsealcoated asphalt on parking lot
Black sealcoat contrasts with unsealcoated asphalt on parking lot
Black sealcoat contrasts with unsealcoated asphalt on parking lot

Sealcoat, marketed to protect and beautify the underlying asphalt, sharply contrasts here with the light gray of unsealcoated asphalt pavement. Read more about coal-tar-based sealcoat and PAHs here.

Sealcoat, marketed to protect and beautify the underlying asphalt, sharply contrasts here with the light gray of unsealcoated asphalt pavement. Read more about coal-tar-based sealcoat and PAHs here.

Worn sealcoated pavement around storm drain
Worn sealcoat around a storm drain.
Worn sealcoat around a storm drain.
Worn sealcoat around a storm drain.

Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), abrades into fine particles with time.  Here, runoff containing abraded particles goes down a storm drain and is delivered to a nearby lake. Read more about coal-tar-based sealcoat and PAHs here.

Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), abrades into fine particles with time.  Here, runoff containing abraded particles goes down a storm drain and is delivered to a nearby lake. Read more about coal-tar-based sealcoat and PAHs here.

Gray patches show where sealcoat has worn off
Sealcoat wear indicated by bare asphalt patches
Sealcoat wear indicated by bare asphalt patches
Sealcoat wear indicated by bare asphalt patches

The abrasive action of car tires and snow plows causes sealcoat to wear off. Here, light-colored patches indicate where the sealcoat has worn off and the underlying asphalt shows through.

The abrasive action of car tires and snow plows causes sealcoat to wear off. Here, light-colored patches indicate where the sealcoat has worn off and the underlying asphalt shows through.

Black sealcoated pavement contrasts with unsealed pavement
Black newly applied sealcoat contrasts with unsealed asphalt
Black newly applied sealcoat contrasts with unsealed asphalt
Black newly applied sealcoat contrasts with unsealed asphalt

Newly applied coal-tar-based sealcoat is dark black, sharply contrasting with the unsealed asphalt parking lot below. Coal-tar-based sealcoat is a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Worn sealcoat around a storm drain.
Worn sealcoat in Milwaukee, WI
Worn sealcoat in Milwaukee, WI
Worn sealcoat in Milwaukee, WI

Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), abrades into fine particles with time.  Here, runoff containing abraded particles goes down a storm drain and is delivered to a nearby lake. Read more about coal-tar-based sealcoat and PAHs here.

Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), abrades into fine particles with time.  Here, runoff containing abraded particles goes down a storm drain and is delivered to a nearby lake. Read more about coal-tar-based sealcoat and PAHs here.

Image: USGS Employee At Work
USGS Employee At Work
USGS Employee At Work
USGS Employee At Work

Bill Foreman, research chemist at the National Water Quality Laboratory, prepares a soil sample for the National Water Quality Assessment Program.

Bill Foreman, research chemist at the National Water Quality Laboratory, prepares a soil sample for the National Water Quality Assessment Program.

Image: Apalachicola River Near Bristol, FL
Apalachicola River Near Bristol, FL
Apalachicola River Near Bristol, FL
Apalachicola River Near Bristol, FL

View of the apalachicola River looking upstream from in a bluff in the Nature Conservancy's Apalchicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve.

View of the apalachicola River looking upstream from in a bluff in the Nature Conservancy's Apalchicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve.

Image: USGS Employee At Work
USGS Employee At Work
USGS Employee At Work
USGS Employee At Work

Tom Custer, Ann Secord (USFWS), and Paul Dummer transport swallow boxes to place along the Hudson River, NY.

Tom Custer, Ann Secord (USFWS), and Paul Dummer transport swallow boxes to place along the Hudson River, NY.

Water quality sampling using a Niskin sampler from the Research Vessel Polaris at sunset on San Francisco Bay.
Water quality sampling on San Francisco Bay
Water quality sampling on San Francisco Bay
Water quality sampling on San Francisco Bay

USGS conducts water quality sampling to describe changes in water quality along the deep channel of the San Francisco Bay-Delta system. Sampling includes continuious sampling and discrete sampling. Here a water discrete water sample is collected using a Niskin sampler at sunset in north San Francisco Bay.

USGS conducts water quality sampling to describe changes in water quality along the deep channel of the San Francisco Bay-Delta system. Sampling includes continuious sampling and discrete sampling. Here a water discrete water sample is collected using a Niskin sampler at sunset in north San Francisco Bay.

Image: Research Vessel Polaris
Research Vessel Polaris
Research Vessel Polaris
Research Vessel Polaris

San Fracisco Bay, CA; Amy Little on Research Vessel Polaris, sampling for water quality constitutents.

San Fracisco Bay, CA; Amy Little on Research Vessel Polaris, sampling for water quality constitutents.

Image: Mist and CLouds Along the North Fork Nooksack River
Mist and CLouds Along the North Fork Nooksack River
Mist and CLouds Along the North Fork Nooksack River
Mist and CLouds Along the North Fork Nooksack River

This wild stretch of the river is along the Nooksack Cirque Trail in North Cascades National Park, about 10 miles upstream of the USGS gage. 

This wild stretch of the river is along the Nooksack Cirque Trail in North Cascades National Park, about 10 miles upstream of the USGS gage. 

Image: Thunder Creek Near Newhalem, WA
Thunder Creek Near Newhalem, WA
Thunder Creek Near Newhalem, WA
Thunder Creek Near Newhalem, WA

Near the mouth of Thunder Creek as it comes into the Skagit River.

Image: Diablo Reservoir Near Newhalem, WA
Diablo Reservoir Near Newhalem, WA
Diablo Reservoir Near Newhalem, WA
Diablo Reservoir Near Newhalem, WA

View in late afternoon from a bluff overlooking the lake. USGS operates a gage on this scenic reservoir. 

View in late afternoon from a bluff overlooking the lake. USGS operates a gage on this scenic reservoir. 

Image: Computer Recycling Farm USA
Computer Recycling Farm USA
Computer Recycling Farm USA
Computer Recycling Farm USA

USGS conducted a study of plastic pollution at this rural US site in the Midwest.  The recycler was receiving computers from companies at a rate which greatly exceeded the capacity of the operation.  Approximately 50,000 computers remained outdoors on 15 acres for nearly a decade.  The site has since been cleaned up.

USGS conducted a study of plastic pollution at this rural US site in the Midwest.  The recycler was receiving computers from companies at a rate which greatly exceeded the capacity of the operation.  Approximately 50,000 computers remained outdoors on 15 acres for nearly a decade.  The site has since been cleaned up.

Image: Sundown Over the Potomac River
Sundown Over the Potomac River
Sundown Over the Potomac River
Sundown Over the Potomac River

On a hike one evening after classes at the National Resources Conservation Center at Shepherdstown, WV, I watched this sunset from the riverbank. 

On a hike one evening after classes at the National Resources Conservation Center at Shepherdstown, WV, I watched this sunset from the riverbank. 

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