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.
Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | October 2018 | USGS at Work
USGS researchers deploying a prototype DTS fiber optic cable array in the Delaware River
Northeast Region Photo Contest Winner | October 2018 | USGS at Work
USGS researchers deploying a prototype DTS fiber optic cable array in the Delaware River
A gravel bar on the north fork of the Agashashok River, 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 that is rapidly warming.
A gravel bar on the north fork of the Agashashok River, 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 that is rapidly warming.
Kankakee River at Davis, IN - camera on gage
USGS hydrologic technicians Keith Hein and Pete Elliott explain site selection and operation of USGS streamgages to staff members of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho's Fish and Wildlife Department at streamgage station 12310100, Kootenai River at Tribal Hatchery near Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
USGS hydrologic technicians Keith Hein and Pete Elliott explain site selection and operation of USGS streamgages to staff members of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho's Fish and Wildlife Department at streamgage station 12310100, Kootenai River at Tribal Hatchery near Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
View into Halema‘uma‘u from the west rim of Kīlauea's summit caldera. USGS photo: J. Kauahikaua, 03 March 2019
View into Halema‘uma‘u from the west rim of Kīlauea's summit caldera. USGS photo: J. Kauahikaua, 03 March 2019
Aerial view due south of the Mono Lake-Long Valley volcanic region. Inset map shows locations of latest Pleistocene–Holocene silicic magmatic centers relative to Long Valley caldera. Rhyolites of the Mono–Inyo chain are shown in pink, and the dacitic–rhyodacitic Mammoth Mountain dome complex is shown in blue. U.S.
Aerial view due south of the Mono Lake-Long Valley volcanic region. Inset map shows locations of latest Pleistocene–Holocene silicic magmatic centers relative to Long Valley caldera. Rhyolites of the Mono–Inyo chain are shown in pink, and the dacitic–rhyodacitic Mammoth Mountain dome complex is shown in blue. U.S.
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff deposit exposed on Mt. Everts, near the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The deposit was created by ash falling from the plume early in the eruption sequence, 2.08 million years ago. Photo by Madison Myers, Montana State University.
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff deposit exposed on Mt. Everts, near the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The deposit was created by ash falling from the plume early in the eruption sequence, 2.08 million years ago. Photo by Madison Myers, Montana State University.
Lindsay Carlson swabbing hunter-harvested ducks in western Alaska as part of USGS research to investigate the persistence of avian influenza viruses in North American wetlands. USGS scientists and colleagues found that influenza A viruses may remain infectious in surface waters of northern wetlands for more than seven months.
Lindsay Carlson swabbing hunter-harvested ducks in western Alaska as part of USGS research to investigate the persistence of avian influenza viruses in North American wetlands. USGS scientists and colleagues found that influenza A viruses may remain infectious in surface waters of northern wetlands for more than seven months.
An egret walks in the shallow surf of an undeveloped beach on Dauphin Island, Alabama, with buildings viewed in the background from a different area on the island.
An egret walks in the shallow surf of an undeveloped beach on Dauphin Island, Alabama, with buildings viewed in the background from a different area on the island.
Between 2009 and 2018, scientists conducted a national scale assessment of mercury accumulation in the National Park System using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels (species that accumulate a pollutant in their tissues as an index of exposure to other organisms without significant adverse effects to the biosentinel) through a citizen science network called the Dragonf
Between 2009 and 2018, scientists conducted a national scale assessment of mercury accumulation in the National Park System using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels (species that accumulate a pollutant in their tissues as an index of exposure to other organisms without significant adverse effects to the biosentinel) through a citizen science network called the Dragonf
Photograph of the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay Harbor, located 8 kilometers downdrift of the spoils pile. Migration of the dark-colored stamp sands (moving from left to right) has buried the original beach, overtopped the wall, and partially blocked the channel.
Photograph of the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay Harbor, located 8 kilometers downdrift of the spoils pile. Migration of the dark-colored stamp sands (moving from left to right) has buried the original beach, overtopped the wall, and partially blocked the channel.
Photograph of the R/V Rafael alongside dock near the survey site on Lake Superior.
Photograph of the R/V Rafael alongside dock near the survey site on Lake Superior.
Photograph showing a high scarp cut into the large pile of stamp sands at the town of Gay, Michigan. Nearly a century of erosion by waves and currents has transported millions of cubic yards of mine tailings along the coast and spread them across the adjacent lake floor.
Photograph showing a high scarp cut into the large pile of stamp sands at the town of Gay, Michigan. Nearly a century of erosion by waves and currents has transported millions of cubic yards of mine tailings along the coast and spread them across the adjacent lake floor.
Streamflow training at Blackrock Creek below Split Rock Creek near Moran, Wyoming. A new student intern learns how to measure streamflows upon arriving in Riverton just in time for high water.
Streamflow training at Blackrock Creek below Split Rock Creek near Moran, Wyoming. A new student intern learns how to measure streamflows upon arriving in Riverton just in time for high water.
A misty morning in the headwaters of the Akillik River, 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 that is rapidly warming.
A misty morning in the headwaters of the Akillik River, 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 that is rapidly warming.
This map takes into account both probability of ignition and conditional probability of spread (to 500+ acres in East and 1000+ acres in West*) given ignition.
This map takes into account both probability of ignition and conditional probability of spread (to 500+ acres in East and 1000+ acres in West*) given ignition.
The FPI is most similar to the Energy Release Component of the National Fire Danger Rating System in that both are moisture related indexes and neither indicates the effect of wind on fire potential.
The FPI is most similar to the Energy Release Component of the National Fire Danger Rating System in that both are moisture related indexes and neither indicates the effect of wind on fire potential.
This ‘a‘ā flow erupted from fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone on June 1, 2018, shows how the interior of a lava flow remains incandescently hot even though surface cooling forms a crust of solid rubble.
This ‘a‘ā flow erupted from fissure 8 on Kīlauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone on June 1, 2018, shows how the interior of a lava flow remains incandescently hot even though surface cooling forms a crust of solid rubble.
This map takes into account both probability of ignition and conditional probability of spread (to 500+ acres in East and 1000+ acres in West*) given ignition.
This map takes into account both probability of ignition and conditional probability of spread (to 500+ acres in East and 1000+ acres in West*) given ignition.
Large Fire Probability for August 30, 2018. Percent change estimate, given a source for ignition that a fire will grow to 100+ acres.
Large Fire Probability for August 30, 2018. Percent change estimate, given a source for ignition that a fire will grow to 100+ acres.
Summary of Fires by GACC Units: For the week of 08/29/2018
Summary of Fires by GACC Units: For the week of 08/29/2018