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Images

Explore our planet through photography and imagery, including climate change and water all the way back to the 1800s when the USGS was surveying the country by horse and buggy.

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A dense field of wildflowers with coastal hills and the ocean in the background
Wildflowers in the Channel Islands
Wildflowers in the Channel Islands
Wildflowers in the Channel Islands

Spring wildflowers captured on California's Channel Islands.

The USGS Western Ecological Research Center's Dr. Kathryn McEachern studies plant ecology and restoration on the Channel Islands. Learn more here.

Spring wildflowers captured on California's Channel Islands.

The USGS Western Ecological Research Center's Dr. Kathryn McEachern studies plant ecology and restoration on the Channel Islands. Learn more here.

USGS - stock tank in the western Plains of San Agustin
Stock tank in the western Plains of San Agustin
Stock tank in the western Plains of San Agustin
Stock tank in the western Plains of San Agustin

USGS scientist Hal Nelson wades in a stock tank to install a fitting on the discharge pipe of a groundwater well to facilitate water quality sampling in the western Plains of San Agustin. Photo taken by Jeff Pepin on April 4th, 2019. 

USGS scientist Hal Nelson wades in a stock tank to install a fitting on the discharge pipe of a groundwater well to facilitate water quality sampling in the western Plains of San Agustin. Photo taken by Jeff Pepin on April 4th, 2019. 

image related to volcanoes. See description
Sunny weather at Kīlauea summit, no significant changes
Sunny weather at Kīlauea summit, no significant changes
Sunny weather at Kīlauea summit, no significant changes

The weather was warm and sunny during a routine visit to the Halema‘uma‘u webcam. No significant changes were observed, and no rockfalls were heard.

Using an ice bar to chip away ice and clear the path to the river
Clearing ice from the path to the river for water-quality sampling
Clearing ice from the path to the river for water-quality sampling
Clearing ice from the path to the river for water-quality sampling

David Sullivan, USGS, using an ice bar to chip away at the ice built up on the trail to get down to the water-quality sampling site at USGS gage Connecticut River near Thompsonville, CT

Collecting winter water-quality samples from the Connecticut River near Thompsonville, CT
Collecting winter water-quality samples from the Connecticut River nea
Collecting winter water-quality samples from the Connecticut River nea
Collecting winter water-quality samples from the Connecticut River nea

Theresa Armijo, USGS, collecting water-quality samples from the Connecticut River by USGS gage 01184000, Connecticut River near Thompsonville 

image related to volcanoes. See description
Mauna Loa's 1975 eruption in terms of today's Volcano Alert Level
Mauna Loa's 1975 eruption in terms of today's Volcano Alert Level
Mauna Loa's 1975 eruption in terms of today's Volcano Alert Level

As the sun rose above Mauna Kea (background) on July 6, 1975, eruptive fissures along the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa fed voluminous ‘a‘ā lava flows that quickly moved down the north flank of the volcano. USGS photo by D. Peterson.

As the sun rose above Mauna Kea (background) on July 6, 1975, eruptive fissures along the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa fed voluminous ‘a‘ā lava flows that quickly moved down the north flank of the volcano. USGS photo by D. Peterson.

Photo taken as SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef

SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo, one of the sites that has been surveyed as part of FWRI’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring project since 1996.

Winter water-quality sampling in the Connecticut River, CT
Winter water-quality sample collection in the Connecticut River, CT
Winter water-quality sample collection in the Connecticut River, CT
Image showing mangroves that have lost all their leaves and a berm that is significantly thinner following Hurricane Irma. 
Berm at Jim Foot Key, Florida (2019)
Berm at Jim Foot Key, Florida (2019)
Berm at Jim Foot Key, Florida (2019)

In Photo:  Berm of Jim Foot Key about 1.5 years after Hurricane Irma. The red circle indicates the same position as shown in the April 2014 photo. The mature mangrove trees have not recovered from the storm.  

In Photo:  Berm of Jim Foot Key about 1.5 years after Hurricane Irma. The red circle indicates the same position as shown in the April 2014 photo. The mature mangrove trees have not recovered from the storm.  

Rear-arc basalt lava outcrop
Rear-arc basalt lava outcrop
Rear-arc basalt lava outcrop
Rear-arc basalt lava outcrop

A 3-4m (10-12 ft) high outcrop of basalt lava, part of a broader lava flow. These flows were erupted about 300,000 years ago following basalt dike intrusions in a rear-arc region of northern California. The eruptions of three of these flows are thought to have taken place within several hundred years of each other.

A 3-4m (10-12 ft) high outcrop of basalt lava, part of a broader lava flow. These flows were erupted about 300,000 years ago following basalt dike intrusions in a rear-arc region of northern California. The eruptions of three of these flows are thought to have taken place within several hundred years of each other.

USGS technician walks through snowy terrain carrying a water measurement device on his back
Spring 2019 Flooding - Maple River in North Dakota
Spring 2019 Flooding - Maple River in North Dakota
Spring 2019 Flooding - Maple River in North Dakota

A USGS technician walks through snowy terrain carrying an ADCP device on his back during record Midwest flooding in spring 2019.

USGS streamgage number 13309220 on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River
USGS streamgage number 13309220 on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon R
USGS streamgage number 13309220 on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon R
USGS streamgage number 13309220 on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon R

USGS streamgage number 13309220 on Idaho's Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area.

Photo of the eastern berm of Jim Foot Key. An arrow points to a growing breach in the berm after Hurricane Irma.
Breach in Eastern Berm of Jim Foot Key, Florida
Breach in Eastern Berm of Jim Foot Key, Florida
Breach in Eastern Berm of Jim Foot Key, Florida

In Photo: Eastern berm of Jim Foot Key, April 2019.  This photo taken from Florida Bay, looking in toward the center of the island (now covered in water).  The arrow points toward a breach in the berm, first noted in 2014, but the cut has deepened significantly after Hurricane Irma, and the island interior

In Photo: Eastern berm of Jim Foot Key, April 2019.  This photo taken from Florida Bay, looking in toward the center of the island (now covered in water).  The arrow points toward a breach in the berm, first noted in 2014, but the cut has deepened significantly after Hurricane Irma, and the island interior

Coqui frog sitting on a red Ti plant leaf
Coqui frog on a red ti leaf
Coqui frog on a red ti leaf
Coqui frog on a red ti leaf

A coqui frog sits on a red ti leaf, next to a quarter for scale. Native to Puerto Rico, coqui frogs are an invasive species in Hawaii.

A coqui frog sits on a red ti leaf, next to a quarter for scale. Native to Puerto Rico, coqui frogs are an invasive species in Hawaii.

Coqui frog on red ti plant leaf
Coqui frog on a red ti plant leaf
Coqui frog on a red ti plant leaf
Coqui frog on a red ti plant leaf

A coqui frog rests on a red ti plant leaf. Native to Puerto Rico, coqui are an invasive species in Hawaii.

A coqui frog rests on a red ti plant leaf. Native to Puerto Rico, coqui are an invasive species in Hawaii.

Nicole DeCrappeo Colorado River
Nicole DeCrappeo Colorado River
Nicole DeCrappeo Colorado River
Nicole DeCrappeo Colorado River

NW CASC’s USGS Director Nicole DeCrappeo on a recent rafting trip through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. She brought along a paper John Wesley Powell, an explorer and the 2nd director of the USGS, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his historic trip down the Colorado River.

NW CASC’s USGS Director Nicole DeCrappeo on a recent rafting trip through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. She brought along a paper John Wesley Powell, an explorer and the 2nd director of the USGS, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his historic trip down the Colorado River.

​​​​​​​Esmeralda Vargas taking data on an estuary sample
​​​​​​​Esmeralda Vargas taking data on an estuary sample
​​​​​​​Esmeralda Vargas taking data on an estuary sample
​​​​​​​Esmeralda Vargas taking data on an estuary sample

Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | April 2019 | Honorable Mention
Esmeralda Vargas taking data on an estuary sample

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