Multimedia Gallery

Lava continues to flow from the western vent (bottom left) into the lava lake at Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i. A portion of the active surface of the lava lake can be seen here with orange, incandescent lava between the west vent and the main island. This photograph was taken on Wednesday, March 5, 2021, at 12:37 p.m. HST from the

Another scenic site on the eastern side of the Wind River Range. Streamflow in the South Fork Little Wind River above Washakie Reservoir is currently running about average for the 37 years of record.

Another scenic site on the eastern side of the Wind River Range. Streamflow in the South Fork Little Wind River above Washakie Reservoir is currently running about average for the 37 years of record.

Macroinvertebrates

This tree-ring sample from an avalanche path captures 256 years of data between the years 1777 and 2013. The scars in 1818 and 1974 are examples of mechanical damage caused by an avalanche. The pith is the center of the tree.

Where Earthquakes Hide in the Desert: What we've learned from recent fault ruptures in the western U.S.

By Austin J. Elliott, USGS Research Geologist

• Three large earthquakes since 2019 have ruptured incompletely mapped faults in the western U.S.
• Both satellite and field measurements give extremely detailed maps

Examples of monitoring buoys deployed in (A) 2018 and (B) 2019 and (C) example of a bottom cage containing a sensor.

The USGS Active Groundwater Level Network includes about 20,000 wells that have been measured by the USGS or USGS cooperators at least once within the past 13 months. The animation shows a daily snapshot of water-level statistics in the network for April 2021.

Refer to the 

Washington State Governor Proclaims May 2021 as Volcano Awareness Month.

On Friday, April 30, lava continued to erupt from the west vent in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. Active surface lava (center of the photo) was limited to the center of the previously active lake surface, where the north (right) and south (left) sides have cooled and crusted over (appearing darker in the image). This photo was taken around 2 p.m. HST from

HVO scientists hiked along the closed Crater Rim Road on April 30th to retrieve acoustic (sound) sensors for a scientific study. This section of the road was damaged by earthquake activity during the 2018 Kīlauea summit caldera collapse. This stretch of road traverses part of the September 1982 lava flow, visible as a lobe of black rock on the right of the road. Mauna Loa

While hiking along the rim of the 2018 collapse area at the summit of Kīlauea, HVO scientists visited a site to the southeast of Halema‘uma‘u known as Akanikōlea—a culturally-significant place that is featured in Hawaiian legends. While the lava lake from the ongoing eruption in Halema‘uma‘u is not visible from this vantage point, the gas plume from the eruption is (

Scientists heading out to deploy sensors for sediment nutrient storage and release.

Hydrologic technicians deploying a flow sensor on a shoal in San Francisco Bay.

USGS scientist, Katy O'Donnell, monitoring instruments onboard a high-speed mapping boat. 

The Region 1, May 2021 "Honorable Mention #2" Winner (by Jill Fleming)

Technician Kathryn Cahalane using an analytical balance to measure resign for SPATT production. 

Tsunami Evacuation Route Sign

https://www.usgs.gov/science-explorer-results?es=tsunamis 

Tsunami Evacuation Route Sign

https://www.usgs.gov/science-explorer-results?es=tsunamis 

Tsunami Hazard Zone Sign

https://www.usgs.gov/science-explorer-results?es=tsunamis 

Wash Station, USGS - NMWSC

Large Array of Laboratory Glassware, USGS - NMWSC

Thermo Scientific Muffle Furnace, USGS - NMWSC

4-Stage Culligan Deionized Water, USGS - NMWSC

Ohaus Micro Balance, USGS - NMWSC

Measuring Water Potential, USGS - NMWSC

Suspended-Sediment Concentration, USGS - NMWSC

This rock is covered with invertebrate animals over nearly the entire surface including orange and purple sea stars, green anemones spotted with shell debris of other animals, and black mussels.

The lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, remains active, as seen in this view looking north. Active surface lava is limited to the western (left) portion of the lake between the main island and the western fissure complex. The active lava surface area has decreased in size over the past week, but remains perched approximately 3 meters (10 ft) higher

This illustration is part of the From Snow to Flow data visualization story.

A majority of the water in the western U.S. comes from snowmelt, but changes in the timing, magnitude, and duration of snowmelt can alter water availability downstream. This data visualization story

A close-up view of the west vent spatter cones (bottom left) and inlet where lava is entering the lava lake (center right) in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. A piece of crust, that solidified near the inlet, broke off and was being transported away from the inlet. This photograph was taken on April 26, 2021, at 1:51 p.m. HST from the west rim of

On Monday, April 26, 2021, lava continued to flow from the western vent (bottom left) into the active lava lake (center) in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano. The active lava lake surface continues to shrink as areas on the north (upper left) and south (center right) sides cool and solidify. This photograph was taken at 1:03 p.m. HST from the west rim of

This Landsat 8 Collection 2 image was acquired over the Richat Structure near the western edge of the Sahara Desert on April 25, 2020 and is shown as a natural color composite using the red, green, and blue bands (Bands 4,3,2).

Also known as the Eye of the Sahara or Guelb er Richat, the Eye is a symmetrical dome of eroded sedimentary and volcanic rock. The outermost

This map of Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea shows 20 m (66 ft) contour lines (dark gray) that mark locations of equal elevation above sea level (asl). The map shows that the lava lake has filled 228 m (748 ft) of the crater, to an elevation of 745 m (2444 ft) asl since the eruption began on December 20, 2020. Contour lines highlighted in green, purple, and blue mark

This zoomed-in photo of the far southwest end of the active lava lake within Halema‘uma‘u at Kīlauea's summit was captured on Thursday, April 22, and it illustrates the process by which parts of the lava lake become inactive. This area, which had seen substantial lava circulation as recently as last week, now has a stagnant pāhoehoe crust that sits 2–3 m (7–10 ft) lower

Delta wetland near Rio Vista, California.

On Thursday, April 22, HVO scientists observed the ongoing eruption at the Kīlauea summit from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u. This photo shows the active western portion of the lava lake, which appears to be in the process of shrinking again, with its northeast (upper-right) and southwest (lower-left) ends crusting over substantially. For scale, the distance from the

Travertine sample from the Hillside Springs Group in Upper Geyser Basin, sampled under permit YELL-2020-SCI-8030. (Left) Cut and polished sample slab showing the different layers of travertine; dashed circles indicate where subsamples were taken for geochronology analysis. (Middle) Sample viewed under shortwave infrared light, where the bright green layers indicate higher

Map of Yellowstone National Park showing the location of major travertine deposits. The green dashed line is the outline of Yellowstone Caldera and red lines are major paved roads.

Photographs of travertine in Yellowstone. A) Travertine terraces actively forming at Mammoth Hot Springs. B) A few miles south of Mammoth Hot Springs, near Silver Gate, the highway passes through a landslide deposit composed of travertine blocks from Terrace Mountain; these travertines formed

A view of Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Island of Hawai‘i, showing the active western fissure with rising fumes, the active western portion of the lava lake (lighter colored area in the middle of the photo), and the big island within the lava lake (right). Lava continues to enter the active lava lake and currently has an effusion rate of less than

A telephoto view of the northwestern point of the main island within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at Kīlauea summit. A rockfall scar (center left) remains after a small collapse of the island was observed by field geologists around 12:43 p.m. HST on April 20, 2021. A sliver of the active lava lake surface is visible at the bottom of this photo. USGS photo taken from the west rim

A telephoto view of the southern lava lake crust and Halema‘uma‘u crater wall at the summit of Kīlauea. Many rockfalls from the steep and unstable crater walls of Halema‘uma‘u have deposited large boulders onto the stagnant lava surface over the past few months. This photo was taken from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u looking southeast. USGS photo taken by L. DeSmither on

Lava continues to erupt from the west vent within Halema‘uma‘u crater and feed the active lava lake at Kīlauea summit. Volcanic gas emissions from the west vent (lower left) remain elevated and were last measured on April 14 at about 950 t/d. This photo was taken from the west rim of Halema‘uma‘u, in an area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that remains closed to the

A telephoto view of the west vent and lava lake inlet within Halema‘uma‘u crater at the summit of Kīlauea. Lava erupting from the west vent (upper left) continues to feed into the active lava lake through a wide inlet near the base of the cone (center right). This photo was taken from the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater, in an area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that

The Region 1, April 2021 "Honorable Mention #1" Winner (by Chelsea Delsack)

Photomicrographs from a wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) found dead in Minnesota, USA.  (A) The normal epithelium becomes markedly thickened due to hyperplasia of the stratum spinosum (left to right) with regions of ulceration and crusting (arrow). H&E stain.  (B) Epithelial cells in hyperplastic regions are multifocally swollen (vacuolar degeneration) (