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Images

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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Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)
Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)
Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)
Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)

Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)

Elevation model CEGIS
Elevation model CEGIS
Elevation model CEGIS
Elevation model CEGIS

Elevation model - multiscale representation

Installing a storm-tide sensor as Hurricane Florence heads for North Carolina
USGS Scientists Get Ready for Hurricanes
USGS Scientists Get Ready for Hurricanes
USGS Scientists Get Ready for Hurricanes

A USGS hydrologic scientist installs a storm-tide sensor near the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Florence approaches.

A USGS hydrologic scientist installs a storm-tide sensor near the North Carolina coast as Hurricane Florence approaches.

Image shows a USGS storm tide sensor attached to a pier
USGS Storm-Tide Sensor for Hurricane Florence
USGS Storm-Tide Sensor for Hurricane Florence
USGS Storm-Tide Sensor for Hurricane Florence

A USGS storm-tide sensor, deployed in advance of Hurricane Florence's landfall. The sensors are housed in vented steel pipes a few inches wide and about a foot long. They are being installed on bridges, piers, and other structures that have a good chance of surviving the storm.

A USGS storm-tide sensor, deployed in advance of Hurricane Florence's landfall. The sensors are housed in vented steel pipes a few inches wide and about a foot long. They are being installed on bridges, piers, and other structures that have a good chance of surviving the storm.

This USGS storm-tide sensor was installed Sept. 9 in Dare County, North Carolina, in preparation for Hurricane Florence.
USGS storm-tide sensor installed for Hurricane Florence
USGS storm-tide sensor installed for Hurricane Florence
USGS storm-tide sensor installed for Hurricane Florence

This USGS storm-tide sensor was installed Sept. 9 in Dare County, North Carolina, in preparation for Hurricane Florence. Photo by Steve Harden, USGS.

This USGS storm-tide sensor was installed Sept. 9 in Dare County, North Carolina, in preparation for Hurricane Florence. Photo by Steve Harden, USGS.

Satellite image showing how there is damage due to beetles in the Black Hills.
Beetle Damage in the Black Hills
Beetle Damage in the Black Hills
Beetle Damage in the Black Hills

Mountain pine beetles are about the size of a grain of rice, so of course we can’t see them from space in satellite images. What is visible is what the beetles can do to a pine forest. The washed-out pink color indicates large areas of standing dead or damaged trees.

Mountain pine beetles are about the size of a grain of rice, so of course we can’t see them from space in satellite images. What is visible is what the beetles can do to a pine forest. The washed-out pink color indicates large areas of standing dead or damaged trees.

A silhouette of a person on a high bluff overlooking the calm ocean at sunset.
Peace at dusk
Peace at dusk
Peace at dusk

USGS oceanographer Shawn Harrison stands on the coastal bluff of Barter Island, Alaska at sunset. Shawn and his fellow researchers are studying how the highly erosive bluff changes under the varied conditions experienced by this stretch of coastline.

USGS oceanographer Shawn Harrison stands on the coastal bluff of Barter Island, Alaska at sunset. Shawn and his fellow researchers are studying how the highly erosive bluff changes under the varied conditions experienced by this stretch of coastline.

Geothermal seep that flows into Yellowstone River, LaDuke Hot Springs
Geothermal seep that flows into Yellowstone River, LaDuke Hot Springs
Geothermal seep that flows into Yellowstone River, LaDuke Hot Springs
Geothermal seep that flows into Yellowstone River, LaDuke Hot Springs

View of one of the geothermal seeps that flows into the Yellowstone River south of LaDuke Hot Spring.

View of one of the geothermal seeps that flows into the Yellowstone River south of LaDuke Hot Spring.

Landsat 8 image of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior
Landsat 8 image of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior
Landsat 8 image of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior
Landsat 8 image of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior

Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: U.S.

Pipe and temperature sensor in water, installed in streambed.
Steel pipe with small temperature sensors.
Steel pipe with small temperature sensors.
Steel pipe with small temperature sensors.

Left: steel pipe with small temperature sensors placed every few inches. Right: temperature pipe installed in the streambed.

Left: steel pipe with small temperature sensors placed every few inches. Right: temperature pipe installed in the streambed.

UAV flight west side of Yellowstone River next to LaDuke Hot springs
UAV flight west side of Yellowstone River next to LaDuke Hot springs
UAV flight west side of Yellowstone River next to LaDuke Hot springs
UAV flight west side of Yellowstone River next to LaDuke Hot springs

Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology and Montana Tech scientists preparing for a UAV flight on the west side of the Yellowstone River adjacent from LaDuke Hot Springs.

Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology and Montana Tech scientists preparing for a UAV flight on the west side of the Yellowstone River adjacent from LaDuke Hot Springs.

Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - muddy waters and debris
Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - muddy waters and debris
Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - muddy waters and debris
Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - muddy waters and debris

Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - muddy waters and debris

Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - view looking upstream towards gage
Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - view looking upstream towards gage
Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - view looking upstream towards gage
Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - view looking upstream towards gage

Eagle Creek above Findlay OH - view looking upstream towards gage

Flushing stomach contents from a live resident Chinook salmon
Flushing stomach contents from a live resident Chinook salmon
Flushing stomach contents from a live resident Chinook salmon
Flushing stomach contents from a live resident Chinook salmon

Flushing stomach contents from a live resident Chinook salmon for an investigation of cannibalism and predation impacts.

Flushing stomach contents from a live resident Chinook salmon for an investigation of cannibalism and predation impacts.

View from above at an angle of a deep pit with some smoke deep inside, ground is barren, sides of pit are collapsing.
Kīlauea summit September 6, 2018
Kīlauea summit September 6, 2018
Kīlauea summit September 6, 2018

Kīlauea summit photo taken on September 6, 2018.

employee collecting samples
Water Quality Sampling
Water Quality Sampling
Water Quality Sampling

Finishing up water-quality sampling on Blacks Fork, the last field run of the summer for two of our interns.

Finishing up water-quality sampling on Blacks Fork, the last field run of the summer for two of our interns.

David Scott(right) and James Irwin(left) in the Lunar Roving Vehicle trainer
David Scott and James Irwin in the Lunar Roving Vehicle "Grover"
David Scott and James Irwin in the Lunar Roving Vehicle "Grover"
David Scott and James Irwin in the Lunar Roving Vehicle "Grover"

In preperation for Apollo 15, David Scott and James Irwin trained with a training version of the Lunar Rover known as the "Grover". Apollo 15 was the first mission to bring a rover. This allowed the astronauts to cover a larger distance and explore a larger area. 

In preperation for Apollo 15, David Scott and James Irwin trained with a training version of the Lunar Rover known as the "Grover". Apollo 15 was the first mission to bring a rover. This allowed the astronauts to cover a larger distance and explore a larger area. 

woman with USGS clothing in green woodsy area with orange butterfly on arm
Field Photo Friday winner for NY September 2018
Field Photo Friday winner for NY September 2018
Field Photo Friday winner for NY September 2018

Karen Murray and a visitor at Canajoharie Creek near Canajoharie, NY during ecological sampling for the National Water Quality Assessment project.

Karen Murray and a visitor at Canajoharie Creek near Canajoharie, NY during ecological sampling for the National Water Quality Assessment project.

Satellite image of EVT data for the LANDFIRE viewer.
LANDFIRE- Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools
LANDFIRE- Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools
image related to volcanoes. See description
Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake
Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake
Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake

Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake area. In Yellowstone, temperatures are extremely cold at night in the winter, and most lakes are frozen (dark pixels). West Tern Lake seems to be thawing here - perhaps it receives some thermal waters from nearby hot springs.

Landsat-8 nighttime thermal infrared image from April 2017 showing the Tern Lake area. In Yellowstone, temperatures are extremely cold at night in the winter, and most lakes are frozen (dark pixels). West Tern Lake seems to be thawing here - perhaps it receives some thermal waters from nearby hot springs.