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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.

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2 men on railed platform on River with longhandled fishing nets
Electrofishing survey on the Buffalo River, NY
Electrofishing survey on the Buffalo River, NY
Electrofishing survey on the Buffalo River, NY

Biologists prepare to net fish during an electrofishing survey on Buffalo River

scientists in a boat and on a dock in the river, and under a popup dissecting fish from river
Fish Collection from the Buffalo RIver AOC
Fish Collection from the Buffalo RIver AOC
Fish Collection from the Buffalo RIver AOC

New York Statewide Fish Collection: Contaminants in fish from the Buffalo River AOC

USGS Hydrologist downloading data near the rain gauge
Figure 3
Figure 3
Figure 3

USGS Hydrologist Alex Fiore downloading data from the open-canopy rain gauge at Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook

USGS Hydrologist Alex Fiore downloading data from the open-canopy rain gauge at Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook

Distant view of sandy beach stretching from bottom left to upper right of photo.
Time-averaged image from video of beach in Madeira Beach, Florida
Time-averaged image from video of beach in Madeira Beach, Florida
Time-averaged image from video of beach in Madeira Beach, Florida

Time-averaged image, or “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during a 17-minute video taken at Madeira Beach, Florida, on June 20, 2017. Blurred white bands show where waves are breaking. Offshore band shows location of a sand bar.

Time-averaged image, or “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during a 17-minute video taken at Madeira Beach, Florida, on June 20, 2017. Blurred white bands show where waves are breaking. Offshore band shows location of a sand bar.

Image in mostly black and gray tones showing distant view of beach stretching from bottom left to upper right of photo.
Variance image from video of beach in Madeira Beach, Florida
Variance image from video of beach in Madeira Beach, Florida
Variance image from video of beach in Madeira Beach, Florida

“Variance” image produced from video shot at Madeira Beach, Florida, on June 20, 2017. The more the light intensity changes at a given spot, or “pixel,” during the video, the brighter the value assigned to that pixel. Motion tends to produce changes in light intensity. Note bright bands parallel to shore where waves were breaking.

“Variance” image produced from video shot at Madeira Beach, Florida, on June 20, 2017. The more the light intensity changes at a given spot, or “pixel,” during the video, the brighter the value assigned to that pixel. Motion tends to produce changes in light intensity. Note bright bands parallel to shore where waves were breaking.

Vandens Apytaka, The Natural Water Cycle, Lithuanian
Diagram of Vandens Apytaka, The Water Cycle, Lithuanian
Diagram of Vandens Apytaka, The Water Cycle, Lithuanian
Diagram of Vandens Apytaka, The Water Cycle, Lithuanian

Vandens Apytaka, The Water Cycle, Lithuanian

Ši diagrama parodo tik natūralų vandens ciklą.

Terminas vandens apytaka apibūdina vandens būvį (skystis, garai, ledas) ir jo judėjimą žemės paviršiuje, žemėje ir virš jos. Šis reiškinys vyksta be pertraukos daug daug metų. Nuo jo priklauso žmogaus ir visos gyvosios gamtos egzistavimas Žemėje.

Vandens Apytaka, The Water Cycle, Lithuanian

Ši diagrama parodo tik natūralų vandens ciklą.

Terminas vandens apytaka apibūdina vandens būvį (skystis, garai, ledas) ir jo judėjimą žemės paviršiuje, žemėje ir virš jos. Šis reiškinys vyksta be pertraukos daug daug metų. Nuo jo priklauso žmogaus ir visos gyvosios gamtos egzistavimas Žemėje.

Inside a Debris Cage at a Stormwater Outfall
One of 21 Stormwater Outfalls Sampled
One of 21 Stormwater Outfalls Sampled
One of 21 Stormwater Outfalls Sampled

Inside a debris cage, which is used to prevent pipe blockages, at one of 21 stormwater outfalls that was sampled prior to discharge to streams or stormwater ponds.

Inside a debris cage, which is used to prevent pipe blockages, at one of 21 stormwater outfalls that was sampled prior to discharge to streams or stormwater ponds.

A Stormwater Discharge Pond
This Pond Receives Stormwater Runoff from a Residential Landscape
This Pond Receives Stormwater Runoff from a Residential Landscape
This Pond Receives Stormwater Runoff from a Residential Landscape

A stormwater pond that receives runoff from a residential landscape. U.S. Geological Survey scientists analyzed samples of stormwater runoff collected during 2016 and 2017 at 21 sites for 438 organic chemicals and 62 inorganic elements.

A stormwater pond that receives runoff from a residential landscape. U.S. Geological Survey scientists analyzed samples of stormwater runoff collected during 2016 and 2017 at 21 sites for 438 organic chemicals and 62 inorganic elements.

Rock with phenocrysts and hammer for scale
Potassium feldspar phenocrysts in syenite
Potassium feldspar phenocrysts in syenite
Potassium feldspar phenocrysts in syenite

Stretched phenocrysts of potassium feldspar in syenite of the Kachauik pluton on the Bering Sea coast of the southeastern Seward Peninsula.

Stretched phenocrysts of potassium feldspar in syenite of the Kachauik pluton on the Bering Sea coast of the southeastern Seward Peninsula.

Satellite image showing the Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon area
Satellite Image of the Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon Area
Satellite Image of the Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon Area
Satellite Image of the Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon Area

This image of the Las Vegas /Lake Mead / Grand Canyon area was acquired on June 16, 2017, with Indian Space Research Organization’s Resourcesat-2 AWiFS sensor. Images of this region can be useful to help detect changes in vegetation and water availability for growing desert communities.

This image of the Las Vegas /Lake Mead / Grand Canyon area was acquired on June 16, 2017, with Indian Space Research Organization’s Resourcesat-2 AWiFS sensor. Images of this region can be useful to help detect changes in vegetation and water availability for growing desert communities.

Loriolia texana fossils
Marker bed known as the Loriolia Bed
Marker bed known as the Loriolia Bed
Marker bed known as the Loriolia Bed

Marker bed known as the Loriolia Bed, found 80 feet below the contact of the Glen Rose Limestone and the Kainer Formation. The photograph was taken north of Farm to Market Road (FM) 195, approximately 1,500 feet west of the intersection of FM 220 and FM 195. The Loriolia texana fossils are identified by white arrows (photograph by Allan K. Clark, U.S.

Marker bed known as the Loriolia Bed, found 80 feet below the contact of the Glen Rose Limestone and the Kainer Formation. The photograph was taken north of Farm to Market Road (FM) 195, approximately 1,500 feet west of the intersection of FM 220 and FM 195. The Loriolia texana fossils are identified by white arrows (photograph by Allan K. Clark, U.S.

Small yellow bird on a bush
Lone male Yellow Warbler on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Lone male Yellow Warbler on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Lone male Yellow Warbler on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Lone male Yellow Warbler on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. This photo was taken on the Seward Peninsula as part of the Changing Arctic Ecosystem Boreal-Arctic Transition Zone program.

Lone male Yellow Warbler on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. This photo was taken on the Seward Peninsula as part of the Changing Arctic Ecosystem Boreal-Arctic Transition Zone program.

Animated image of tortoise falling on its back
Baby Tortoise Falling
Baby Tortoise Falling
Baby Tortoise Falling

Animated GIF of a recently hatched Mojave Desert tortoise falling down on its back. This GIF came from a movie that was produced by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center and USGS Western Region Office of Communications in cooperation with the Las Vegas based Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, the U.S.

Animated GIF of a recently hatched Mojave Desert tortoise falling down on its back. This GIF came from a movie that was produced by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center and USGS Western Region Office of Communications in cooperation with the Las Vegas based Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, the U.S.

flooding stream through a permafrost landscape in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska
Flooding stream in a permafrost landscape, Kobuk Valley National Park
Flooding stream in a permafrost landscape, Kobuk Valley National Park
Flooding stream in a permafrost landscape, Kobuk Valley National Park

A flooding stream meanders through a permafrost landscape in Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska. This work is part of the Hydro-Ecology of Arctic Thawing (HEAT): Hydrology project that takes place in the Arctic Network Parks because they lie in a region

Logs and debris floating in a river
Logs and Debris in the Yellowstone River
Logs and Debris in the Yellowstone River
Logs and Debris in the Yellowstone River

Logs and debris are a common occurrence during recent high flows in the Yellowstone River.

Animated image of a bee on a flower
Pollinating Bee
Pollinating Bee
Pollinating Bee

This is an animated GIF of a bee pollinating a flower. This video comes from The USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, located in the Northern Great Plains state of North Dakota highlights their current and ongoing research on land use and pollinator health. 

This is an animated GIF of a bee pollinating a flower. This video comes from The USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, located in the Northern Great Plains state of North Dakota highlights their current and ongoing research on land use and pollinator health. 

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