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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.
A Cyanea calycina, or haha, growing in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Haha is a rare and endangered plant endemic to Hawai‘i.
A Cyanea calycina, or haha, growing in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Haha is a rare and endangered plant endemic to Hawai‘i.
USGS hydrologic technician Brandon Cooper flags a debris line on a telephone pole approximately 14.3 feet above the ground and located about 245 feet east of the bridge on Keith Road over Boggy Creek, September 15, 2017.
USGS hydrologic technician Brandon Cooper flags a debris line on a telephone pole approximately 14.3 feet above the ground and located about 245 feet east of the bridge on Keith Road over Boggy Creek, September 15, 2017.
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, lands a drone on target at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, lands a drone on target at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Aeiral image of Woods Hole, MA taken during the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll. The green USGS tent generated a lot of interest and participation from Science Stroll attendees
Aeiral image of Woods Hole, MA taken during the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll. The green USGS tent generated a lot of interest and participation from Science Stroll attendees
SeaBOSS Selfies were a big hit at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll.
SeaBOSS Selfies were a big hit at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll.
It may seem surprising that wildfires burn in Greenland, a huge island of ice and glaciers. But fires do happen there. Earth-observing satellites detected a fire in a remote area of western Greenland in August 2017.
It may seem surprising that wildfires burn in Greenland, a huge island of ice and glaciers. But fires do happen there. Earth-observing satellites detected a fire in a remote area of western Greenland in August 2017.
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, provides a demonstration of drone capabilities at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, provides a demonstration of drone capabilities at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra, talking to children about oceanographic modeling at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra, talking to children about oceanographic modeling at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants; Dann Blackwood, Andrea Toran, Emily Sturdivant, Ellyn Montgomery, Sara Zeigler, Neil Ganju, Seth Ackerman, Laura Brothers, Meagan Gonneea
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants; Dann Blackwood, Andrea Toran, Emily Sturdivant, Ellyn Montgomery, Sara Zeigler, Neil Ganju, Seth Ackerman, Laura Brothers, Meagan Gonneea
Streamflow measurement near the Charles River USGS 01104200 gage at Wellesley, MA
Streamflow measurement near the Charles River USGS 01104200 gage at Wellesley, MA
USGS scientist SOD sampling in the Mohawk RIver
USGS scientist SOD sampling in the Mohawk RIver
Unnamed stream in the Adirondack Mountains of New York
Unnamed stream in the Adirondack Mountains of New York
A USGS hydrologist collects a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Learn more about domestic wells here.
A USGS hydrologist collects a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. Learn more about domestic wells here.
Photo of Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Alaska.
Photo of Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Alaska.
Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) sampling in Mohawk River
Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) sampling in Mohawk River
American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western North America.
American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western North America.
Turbid waters in the Little Holland Tract area of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, California. Turbidity affects light penetration and ecological productivity, recreational values, and habitat quality, and causes lakes to fill in faster.
Turbid waters in the Little Holland Tract area of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta, California. Turbidity affects light penetration and ecological productivity, recreational values, and habitat quality, and causes lakes to fill in faster.
Dr. Brian Halstead, USGS WERC, gestures to the Randall House, now abandoned, constructed in the early 20th century. The house is now maintained by the National Park Service as a maternity roost for Townsend's Big-Eared bats.
Dr. Brian Halstead, USGS WERC, gestures to the Randall House, now abandoned, constructed in the early 20th century. The house is now maintained by the National Park Service as a maternity roost for Townsend's Big-Eared bats.
Photo of driftwood, and invasive grasses and iceplant at Point Reyes National Seashore, CA. Such "dune drainages" make surprising habitat for a threatened species of amphibian: the California red-legged frog.
Photo of driftwood, and invasive grasses and iceplant at Point Reyes National Seashore, CA. Such "dune drainages" make surprising habitat for a threatened species of amphibian: the California red-legged frog.