Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
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.
Photograph taken during Tropical Storm Colin, June 6, 2016, on Sunset Beach in the town of St. Pete Beach, Florida.
Photograph taken during Tropical Storm Colin, June 6, 2016, on Sunset Beach in the town of St. Pete Beach, Florida.
USGS scientists Kate Scharer, Richard Lease, and Adrian Bender excavate a marine terrace elevated tens of meters above sea level on the west side of the Fairweather Fault. Location: Icy Point, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
USGS scientists Kate Scharer, Richard Lease, and Adrian Bender excavate a marine terrace elevated tens of meters above sea level on the west side of the Fairweather Fault. Location: Icy Point, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
A flying insect perched on lakeshore grasses, Albemarle County, Virginia.
A flying insect perched on lakeshore grasses, Albemarle County, Virginia.
Across the desert Southwest, ground void of plant material is prone to soil erosoin and dust storms. In this fallowed agricultural field, we see that a spring breeze can carry away fertile top soil and create air quality concerns.
Across the desert Southwest, ground void of plant material is prone to soil erosoin and dust storms. In this fallowed agricultural field, we see that a spring breeze can carry away fertile top soil and create air quality concerns.
A biological science technician collects pallid sturgeon free embryos from the sampling nets in the experimental streams at the Columbia Environmental Research Center.
A biological science technician collects pallid sturgeon free embryos from the sampling nets in the experimental streams at the Columbia Environmental Research Center.
An animated GIF of lava spattering at Pu'u 'O 'o crater pulled from the Pu'u 'O'o Producing Spattering video.
An animated GIF of lava spattering at Pu'u 'O 'o crater pulled from the Pu'u 'O'o Producing Spattering video.
A USGS scientist inventories his equipment at the Columbia Environmental Research Center before embarking on the trip to Montana for fieldwork.
A USGS scientist inventories his equipment at the Columbia Environmental Research Center before embarking on the trip to Montana for fieldwork.
A biological science technician prepares the swim chambers to assess the swimming abilities of young pallid sturgeon.
A biological science technician prepares the swim chambers to assess the swimming abilities of young pallid sturgeon.
Student Services contractor, Tanner, Cox releasing a pallid sturgeon on the Yellowstone River.
Student Services contractor, Tanner, Cox releasing a pallid sturgeon on the Yellowstone River.
USGS scientists Richard Lease and Adrian Bender examine river terraces elevated tens of meters above the modern channel level on the west side of the Fairweather Fault. Location: Kaknau Creek, Icy Point, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
USGS scientists Richard Lease and Adrian Bender examine river terraces elevated tens of meters above the modern channel level on the west side of the Fairweather Fault. Location: Kaknau Creek, Icy Point, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images of Kīlauea (left) and Mauna Loa (right) spanning the past several years. Concentric patterns of colored fringes indicate magma accumulation centered near the summit calderas of both volcanoes.
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images of Kīlauea (left) and Mauna Loa (right) spanning the past several years. Concentric patterns of colored fringes indicate magma accumulation centered near the summit calderas of both volcanoes.
A white heron flying across a marsh in York County, Virginia.
A white heron flying across a marsh in York County, Virginia.
USGS NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples
USGS NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples
View looking northeast at Kīlauea's summit lava lake.
View looking northeast at Kīlauea's summit lava lake.
Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian
Тэнгэрээс орох борооны дусал бүр, аягалан уух ус болгон чинь шив шинэ гэж чи бодож байж магадгүй. Гэвч энэ ус үргэлж оршсоор ирсэн, усны эргэлтийн нэг хэсэг юм шүү дээ.
Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian
Тэнгэрээс орох борооны дусал бүр, аягалан уух ус болгон чинь шив шинэ гэж чи бодож байж магадгүй. Гэвч энэ ус үргэлж оршсоор ирсэн, усны эргэлтийн нэг хэсэг юм шүү дээ.
Limited information is available about the movements of riverine smallmouth bass in landscapes with prevalent river-reservoir interfaces. This lack of information is especially problematic for the Neosho subspecies of smallmouth bass given the distribution covers an interwoven landscape of rivers and reservoirs.
Limited information is available about the movements of riverine smallmouth bass in landscapes with prevalent river-reservoir interfaces. This lack of information is especially problematic for the Neosho subspecies of smallmouth bass given the distribution covers an interwoven landscape of rivers and reservoirs.
Topographic “point clouds” (or 3D maps) created by computer processing of air photos show what the Mud Creek area looked like on March 8, 2017 (top), May 19 (center), and May 27 (bottom).
Topographic “point clouds” (or 3D maps) created by computer processing of air photos show what the Mud Creek area looked like on March 8, 2017 (top), May 19 (center), and May 27 (bottom).
View from an airplane looking at the Mud Creek landslide on the Big Sur coast that occurred May 20, 2017.
View from an airplane looking at the Mud Creek landslide on the Big Sur coast that occurred May 20, 2017.
USGS air photo of the Mud Creek landslide, taken on May 27, 2017
USGS air photo of the Mud Creek landslide, taken on May 27, 2017
Measuring streamflow using bridge crane and AA meter, Powder River at Sussex
Measuring streamflow using bridge crane and AA meter, Powder River at Sussex
Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats during spring/summer. NWHC is investigating use of community guano samples from summer roosts for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) surveillance.
Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats during spring/summer. NWHC is investigating use of community guano samples from summer roosts for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) surveillance.