Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Featured Stories

Dive into the world of science! Read these stories and narratives to learn about news items, hot topics, expeditions underway, and much more. Use an RSS reader, browser extension, or software to get updates when new Featured Stories are posted.

Filter Total Items: 535
Landsat Eyes Help Guard the World’s Forests

Landsat Eyes Help Guard the World’s Forests

“We’re seeing the loss of forests in many places,” said Matthew Hansen, a professor at the University of Maryland. “Dynamics include increasing...

Read Article
Maps Made With Light Show the Way

Maps Made With Light Show the Way

The topic, officially, was water. But during a scientific conference in Butte, Montana, in 2013, earthquake expert Michael Stickney glimpsed something...

Read Article
New England’s 1816 “Mackerel Year,” Volcanoes and Climate Change Today

New England’s 1816 “Mackerel Year,” Volcanoes and Climate Change Today

Hundreds of articles have been written about the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history, at Indonesia’s Mt. Tambora just over 200 years ago...

Read Article
Turning the Tide on the Chesapeake Bay

Turning the Tide on the Chesapeake Bay

Richard Batiuk got to know the Chesapeake Bay in the early 1970s. During visits with his friends and family, they would swim and boat, and fish would...

Read Article
Revolutionizing Volcano Monitoring in Indonesia

Revolutionizing Volcano Monitoring in Indonesia

In early September of 2010, a pattern of increased earthquake activity occurred at the Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia. A few days later, an...

Read Article
Natural Hazards of 2016

Natural Hazards of 2016

Reflecting on 2016 hazards serves as a reminder of the dangers we face and the need for preparedness to save lives and property.

Read Article
Low landslide risk after tragic Smokies fires

Low landslide risk after tragic Smokies fires

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is at low risk of one common type of landslide, according to the USGS' first-ever hazard assessment for an Eastern...

Read Article
A Grand Slam for Students, Schools and Science

A Grand Slam for Students, Schools and Science

"It’s a grand slam for all involved,” said Dawn Childs, USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units.  “Recent high school graduates with special...

Read Article
The Other 364 Days of the Year: The Real Lives of Wild Reindeer

The Other 364 Days of the Year: The Real Lives of Wild Reindeer

Caribou, North America’s wild reindeer, have lives apart from their famous role on Christmas Eve. Reindeer and caribou are large, cold-adapted...

Read Article
Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake off Papua New Guinea

Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake off Papua New Guinea

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake has occurred offshore of New Ireland Island, Papua New Guinea on December 17, 2016 at 10:51:12 UTC. 

Read Article
Warmer Ocean Waters Seen to Spur Drought in Africa

Warmer Ocean Waters Seen to Spur Drought in Africa

Monitoring drought vital to success of humanitarian relief

Read Article
How Much Water Do We Use?

How Much Water Do We Use?

The USGS National Water-Use Science project has documented 60 years of water-use from 1950 to 2010 in an interactive map.  Choose a year and pick a...

Read Article