Images

A tile map of the US showing streamgages by flow levels through the month of December 2023. For each state, an area chart shows the proportion of streamgages in wet, normal, or dry conditions. Streamflow conditions are quantified using percentiles comparing the past month’s flow levels to the historic record for each streamgage.

Photograph of the Lake in Central Park, NY under harmful algal bloom conditions.

Freshwater waterfall in lush green forested area named Wailua Iki Falls, Maui.

This diagram, released in English and Spanish in 2022, depicts the global water cycle. It shows how human water use affects where water is stored, how it moves, and how clean it is. This diagram is also available in other languages available on our Downloadable Products page.

This diagram, released in English and Spanish in 2022, depicts the global water cycle. It shows how human water use affects where water is stored, how it moves, and how clean it is. This diagram is also available in other languages available on our Downloadable Products page.

The USGS National Water Quality Program (NWQP) is funding 24 projects in 15 geographic areas that advance real-time monitoring, remote sensing, and use of molecular techniques in identifying and predicting the occurrence of HABs and the toxins they produce.

March-August daily average streamflow for the last 30 years (1991-2022) (dark gray lines) compared to 2023, showing the periods where 2023 streamflow was above (blue) and below (orange) the historical average. Individual years of the relevant historical streamflow period are shown in light gray. 

Map of the Integrated Water Science study area for the Willamette River Basin, Oregon.

Photo of the USGS UMID Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory at the Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Photograph of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. Photo taken on September 8, 2023.

Abandoned cars on a flooded street in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY during a storm in 2023.

Orange streams are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The orange stream color reflects oxidized iron, but also often indicates elevated heavy metal concentrations. Our ongoing study aims to document these occurrences and the timing of their onset.

Vegetation growth is assisting the Muddy Creek channel in becoming deeper and narrower (Carbon County, Wyoming).  Photo by Patrick Anderson (USGS)

This is a screenshot taken from a timelapse video of a rising glacial lake from May through August 2023. The video was captured by a USGS Hydrologic Imagery Visualization and Information System (HIVIS) camera. The water level in the lake gradually rises throughout the video and then the water level dramatically decreases towards the end of the video.

Orange streams are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The orange stream color reflects oxidized iron, but also often indicates elevated heavy metal concentrations. Our ongoing study aims to document these occurrences and the timing of their onset.

Orange streams are increasingly common in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. The orange stream color reflects oxidized iron, but also often indicates elevated heavy metal concentrations. Our ongoing study aims to document these occurrences and the timing of their onset.

U.S. River Conditions, April to June 2023 visualization thumbnail image. For more visualizations, check out https://labs.waterdata.usgs.gov/visualizations/vizlab-home/index.html#/

USGS Staff at the Unuk River Streamgage in Southeast Alaska. The Unuk River is the second smallest watershed in the transboundary study of Southeast Alaska, but has three large mining projects in development (Kerr-Sulplherets-Mitchell (KSM), Brucejack, and Eskay Creek)

The Saline Lake Ecosystems IWAA Waterbird Movement Project began tagging American Avocets in March 2023 to track their movements across the landscape. Tracking data from these birds will help scientists better understand why these birds choose to use the terminal lake and wetland habitats they do in the Great Basin.

American Avocet are a bird that relies heavily on the Saline Lakes ecosystem during their spring migration periods. Over 50% of these birds exist here. Part of their use includes using the terminal lakes there to breed. 

Lake Abert, Oregon is one of the 20 terminal lakes identified by USGS partners as priority ecosystems for study by the Saline Lakes Ecosystems IWAA.