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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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Yellow Creek near Oak Grove, IN - gage on bridge
Yellow Creek near Oak Grove, IN - gage on bridge
Yellow Creek near Oak Grove, IN - gage on bridge
Yellow Creek near Oak Grove, IN - gage on bridge

Yellow Creek near Oak Grove, IN - gage on bridge

USGS drone pilots on the beach in Dauphin Island, Alabama
USGS aerial imaging mapping team
USGS aerial imaging mapping team
Perspective view of coastal bathymetry looking onshore, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Perspective lidar view of coastal bathymetry at St. Thomas, USVI
Perspective lidar view of coastal bathymetry at St. Thomas, USVI
Perspective lidar view of coastal bathymetry at St. Thomas, USVI

Perspective view of coastal bathymetry looking onshore, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar and depicted with false-color, showing detailed submerged features, including coral reefs.

Perspective view of coastal bathymetry looking onshore, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, mapped using lidar and depicted with false-color, showing detailed submerged features, including coral reefs.

USGS presentation title slide for GenEst, A Generalized Estimator of Mortality
Slide 1 26Nov2018 NWCC GenEst Workshop
Slide 1 26Nov2018 NWCC GenEst Workshop
Slide 1 26Nov2018 NWCC GenEst Workshop

Opening slide for the Intro to GenEst, A Generalized Estimator of Mortality, Workshop held at the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative's Wind Wildlife Research Meeting XII on November 26, 2018 in St. Paul Minnesota.

Opening slide for the Intro to GenEst, A Generalized Estimator of Mortality, Workshop held at the National Wind Coordinating Collaborative's Wind Wildlife Research Meeting XII on November 26, 2018 in St. Paul Minnesota.

image related to volcanoes. See description
A view into the center of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Collapses on th
A view into the center of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Collapses on th
A view into the center of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Collapses on th

A view into the center of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Collapses on the crater walls have enlarged sections of the crater and filled the bottom of the crater with rockfall debris. The deepest portion of the crater is about 286 m (938 ft) below the crater floor that existed prior to the collapse on April 30, 2018. Steam rises from the loose rock on the crater floor. USGS image by F.

A view into the center of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Collapses on the crater walls have enlarged sections of the crater and filled the bottom of the crater with rockfall debris. The deepest portion of the crater is about 286 m (938 ft) below the crater floor that existed prior to the collapse on April 30, 2018. Steam rises from the loose rock on the crater floor. USGS image by F.

midwinter dawn at Halema‘uma‘u
midwinter dawn at Halema‘uma‘u
midwinter dawn at Halema‘uma‘u
midwinter dawn at Halema‘uma‘u

A midwinter dawn at Halema‘uma‘u on Kīlauea. Steaming cracks tell of water and heat interacting beneath the summit caldera of the volcano. In the background, the first rays of sunlight illuminate Uēkahuna Bluff.

A midwinter dawn at Halema‘uma‘u on Kīlauea. Steaming cracks tell of water and heat interacting beneath the summit caldera of the volcano. In the background, the first rays of sunlight illuminate Uēkahuna Bluff.

Two USGS scientists collecting samples from the river bed
NAWQA Sampling
NAWQA Sampling
NAWQA Sampling

USGS Scientists collecting Biological samples in stream bed

USGS Scientists collecting Biological samples in stream bed

Great Lakes Otolith Aging Workshop
Great Lakes Otolith Aging Workshop
Great Lakes Otolith Aging Workshop
Great Lakes Otolith Aging Workshop

Twenty-three state, tribal, and federal agencies and academic institutions throughout the Great Lakes region gathered in Traverse City, Michigan, in December 2018 for a prey fish age estimation workshop, co-hosted by GLSC.  This photo was taken in 2018, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty-three state, tribal, and federal agencies and academic institutions throughout the Great Lakes region gathered in Traverse City, Michigan, in December 2018 for a prey fish age estimation workshop, co-hosted by GLSC.  This photo was taken in 2018, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

USGS hydrographer measuring streamflow on Warm Springs Creek, Idaho
USGS hydrographer measuring streamflow on Warm Springs Creek, Idaho
USGS hydrographer measuring streamflow on Warm Springs Creek, Idaho
USGS hydrographer measuring streamflow on Warm Springs Creek, Idaho

Justin McKoon, hydrologic technicians with the USGS Idaho Water Science Center, measures treamflow at USGS streamgage station 13124265, Warm Springs Creek below diversion near Mackay, Idaho.

Justin McKoon, hydrologic technicians with the USGS Idaho Water Science Center, measures treamflow at USGS streamgage station 13124265, Warm Springs Creek below diversion near Mackay, Idaho.

Biplot of principal component analysis
Biplot of principal component analysis
Biplot of principal component analysis
Biplot of principal component analysis

Biplot of principal component analysis of soil elemental composition data. Background and enriched samples are denoted. Colored points are from potentially enriched soils at mine sites, and black points are from unmined background sites. The effect of different elements on the analysis is shown by the rays, which are labeled to identify the elements.

Biplot of principal component analysis of soil elemental composition data. Background and enriched samples are denoted. Colored points are from potentially enriched soils at mine sites, and black points are from unmined background sites. The effect of different elements on the analysis is shown by the rays, which are labeled to identify the elements.

A USGS geologist stands in a crack in tide flat sediment, Alaska
A USGS geologist stands in a crack in tide flat sediment, Alaska
A USGS geologist stands in a crack in tide flat sediment, Alaska
A USGS geologist stands in a crack in tide flat sediment, Alaska

A USGS scientist stands in a crack in tide flat sediment that opened during strong shaking in the November 30, 2018 Anchorage earthquake. This upland ground crack near Cottonwood Creek, Palmer Slough had horizontal displacements of ~2.5ft locally and observed maximum depth of ~3ft. The crack was observed ~150ft from the active river channel.

A USGS scientist stands in a crack in tide flat sediment that opened during strong shaking in the November 30, 2018 Anchorage earthquake. This upland ground crack near Cottonwood Creek, Palmer Slough had horizontal displacements of ~2.5ft locally and observed maximum depth of ~3ft. The crack was observed ~150ft from the active river channel.

Lineations on a vertical strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone exposed in Northern Soda Mountains, California.
Lineations on a strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone northern Soda Mt
Lineations on a strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone northern Soda Mt
Lineations on a strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone northern Soda Mt

Lineations on a vertical fault strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone, exposed in the northern Soda Mountains, Mojave Desert, southern California. The fault can be seen cutting both late Tertiary sand and gravel units, but is buried by an overlying mid-Pleistocene alluvial gravel deposit.

Lineations on a vertical fault strand of the Soda-Avawatz Fault Zone, exposed in the northern Soda Mountains, Mojave Desert, southern California. The fault can be seen cutting both late Tertiary sand and gravel units, but is buried by an overlying mid-Pleistocene alluvial gravel deposit.

USGS scientist investigates cracks in Road, Wasilla, Alaska
USGS scientist investigates cracks along Trunk Road in Wasilla, AK
USGS scientist investigates cracks along Trunk Road in Wasilla, AK
USGS scientist investigates cracks along Trunk Road in Wasilla, AK

A USGS scientist investigates cracks along Trunk Road in Wasilla, Alaska. Extensional crack and damage to roadway along S Trunk Rd.

A USGS scientist investigates cracks along Trunk Road in Wasilla, Alaska. Extensional crack and damage to roadway along S Trunk Rd.

A small boat sits at a dock.
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel R/V San Lorenzo.

USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's research vessel R/V San Lorenzo.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Equipment check at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō
Equipment check at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō
Equipment check at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō

On May 7, 2019, field crews visited a telemetry hub on the rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō to assess damage after a small collapse on May 1. During the overflight, photos and observations were made of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The crater walls expose a clear sequence of lava flows and cinder that built the cone in the early 1980s. USGS image by F. Younger.

On May 7, 2019, field crews visited a telemetry hub on the rim of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō to assess damage after a small collapse on May 1. During the overflight, photos and observations were made of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater. The crater walls expose a clear sequence of lava flows and cinder that built the cone in the early 1980s. USGS image by F. Younger.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) sitting in parking lot
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Ready to Deploy
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Ready to Deploy
The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Ready to Deploy

The underwater autonomous vehicle sitting in a parking lot before being deployed.

The underwater autonomous vehicle sitting in a parking lot before being deployed.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) floating in West Arm Grand Traverse Bay
Deploying autonomous technology in Lake Michigan
Deploying autonomous technology in Lake Michigan
Deploying autonomous technology in Lake Michigan

This is an autonomous underwate vehicle (AUV) deployed in the west arm or Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan near Traverse City.

This is an autonomous underwate vehicle (AUV) deployed in the west arm or Grand Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan near Traverse City.

Sunset in background on a body of water with a small boat in the foreground.
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo at sunset
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo at sunset
PCMSC vessel San Lorenzo at sunset

Sun sets on Whiskeytown Lake with PCMSC's vessel San Lorenzo in foreground.

Yellow River at Knox, IN - upstream of bridge
Yellow River at Knox, IN - upstream of bridge
Yellow River at Knox, IN - upstream of bridge
Yellow River at Knox, IN - upstream of bridge

Yellow River at Knox, IN - upstream of bridge