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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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Open containers of prescription medications and pills spilled out
Prescription medication
Prescription medication
Prescription medication

Hormones and pharmaceuticals, widely used for treatment of humans, domestic animals, and livestock, have the potential to enter the environment, including groundwater. In 2009, nearly 70% of Americans took at least one prescription drug, and more than half took 2 or more.

Hormones and pharmaceuticals, widely used for treatment of humans, domestic animals, and livestock, have the potential to enter the environment, including groundwater. In 2009, nearly 70% of Americans took at least one prescription drug, and more than half took 2 or more.

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - dry stream
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - dry stream
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - dry stream
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - dry stream

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - dry stream

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - equipment
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - equipment
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - equipment
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - equipment

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - equipment

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measurement
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measurement
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measurement
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measurement

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measurement

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measuring stream width
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measuring stream
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measuring stream
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measuring stream

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - measuring stream width

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - no flow
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - no flow
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - no flow
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - no flow

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - no flow

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - stream measurement
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - stream measurement
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - stream measurement
School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - stream measurement

School Branch at Maloney Road near Brownsburg IN - stream measurement

Roman marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera
Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy
Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy
Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy

Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy, records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera over two millennia.

Serapeum, a Roman Marketplace in Pozzuoli, Italy, records deformation of Campi Flegrei caldera over two millennia.

USGS researchers deploying a prototype DTS fiber optic cable
USGS researchers deploying a prototype DTS fiber optic cable
USGS researchers deploying a prototype DTS fiber optic cable
USGS researchers deploying a prototype DTS fiber optic cable

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

Gravel bar on the north fork of the Agashashok River, Alaska
Gravel bar on the north fork of the Agashashok River, Alaska
Gravel bar on the north fork of the Agashashok River, Alaska
Gravel bar on the north fork of the Agashashok River, Alaska

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
Kankakee River at Davis, IN - camera on gage
Kankakee River at Davis, IN - camera on gage
Kankakee River at Davis, IN - camera on gage

Kankakee River at Davis, IN - camera on gage

USGS hydrologic technicians train Kootenai Tribe of Idaho staff
USGS hydrologic technicians train Kootenai Tribe of Idaho staff
USGS hydrologic technicians train Kootenai Tribe of Idaho staff
USGS hydrologic technicians train Kootenai Tribe of Idaho staff

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.

image related to volcanoes. See description
View into Halema‘uma‘u from the west rim of Kīlauea's summit ca
View into Halema‘uma‘u from the west rim of Kīlauea's summit ca
View into Halema‘uma‘u from the west rim of Kīlauea's summit ca

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

image related to volcanoes. See description
View of the Mono Lake-Long Valley volcanic region
View of the Mono Lake-Long Valley volcanic region
View of the Mono Lake-Long Valley volcanic region

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.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff deposit exposed on Mt. Everts, Yellowstone National Park
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff deposit exposed on Mt. Everts, Yellowstone National Park
Huckleberry Ridge Tuff deposit exposed on Mt. Everts, Yellowstone National Park

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.

Scientist swabbing hunter-harvested ducks in western Alaska
Lindsay Carlson swabbing hunter harvested ducks in western Alaska
Lindsay Carlson swabbing hunter harvested ducks in western Alaska
Lindsay Carlson swabbing hunter harvested ducks in western Alaska

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 surf of Dauphin Island beach on a calm sunny day
An egret walks in the surf of Dauphin Island beach
An egret walks in the surf of Dauphin Island beach
An egret walks in the surf of Dauphin Island beach

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.

man holding up two small sample bags of larval fish
Collecting larval fish for the Dragonfly Mercury Project
Collecting larval fish for the Dragonfly Mercury Project
Collecting larval fish for the Dragonfly Mercury Project

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

Dark sand surrounding the entrance to a harbor; a caution sign is featured in the foreground
Photograph of the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay Harbor
Photograph of the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay Harbor
Photograph of the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay Harbor

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 at sunrise
Photograph of the R/V Rafael alongside dock near the survey site
Photograph of the R/V Rafael alongside dock near the survey site
Photograph of the R/V Rafael alongside dock near the survey site

Photograph of the R/V Rafael alongside dock near the survey site on Lake Superior.