Multimedia Gallery

Description: This is a high-resolution oblique view of the northeastern edge of the delta deposit in Jezero crater, the landing site for the Perseverance Mars rover. In the foreground, buttes of delta material stand above the crater floor. On the left and in the middle of this image, the layered rocks of the delta deposit are visible. These may be lake bed or river

When you’re planning to explore someplace new, it’s always a good idea to bring a map so you can avoid dangerous terrain. This is true whether you’re heading out for a hike on Earth or you’re landing a rover on Mars! When NASA’s Perseverance rover lands on Mars in 2021, it will be equipped with the most precise maps of Mars ever created, courtesy of the USGS Astrogeology

View looks southwest along the eastern flank of the Elwha River delta and back towards the mouth of the river. USGS conducts regular surveys along this stretch of coastline, to monitor the evolving coastline following removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, completed in 2014.

Photographs from two mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) found dead within a warm-water retention pond in Minnesota, US. (A) Jejunum with superficial pseudomembranes and deep mucosal granulomatous inflammation (clear arrow). Small degenerated metazoan parasites are present rarely within the inflamed areas (black arrow). H&E stain. (B). Cecum with approximately 50 x

Photographs from two mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) found dead within a warm-water retention pond in Minnesota, US. (A) Caeca with mucosal roughening and caseous plaque formation. A larger trematode (arrow) is found within. (B) Dilated and thinned intestine containing watery intestinal content with pinpoint white material.

ANIMATED GIF: Saturday, July 25, marks the one year anniversary since water was first spotted at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u, at the summit of Kīlauea. Over the past year, the summit water lake has grown to more than 270 m (885 ft) long and 131 m (430 ft) wide, with a surface area over 2.5 hectares (6 acres). The lake is over 40 m (130 ft) deep with a volume of

Comparison of images showing growth of Kīlauea's summit water lake over the past year. The left image, taken on August 2, 2019, shows a small green pond that was approximately 6 ft (2 m) deep. The right image, taken on July 21, 2020, shows a lake more than 130 ft (40 m) deep with shades of tan to brown and a sharp color boundary often cutting across the lake. Hawaiian

Kīlauea

Summit crater lake growth

July 25, 2019 to July 25, 2020

Background image: Panorama that shows the view of Halema‘uma‘u from the northwest caldera rim, and shows much of the caldera floor that subsided during 2018. The water lake is visible at the bottom of Halema‘uma‘u. Kīlauea Iki is in the

Image comparison of Kīlauea summit lake on August 2, 2019 and July July 21, 2020

The Raspberry Shake 4D (RS4D) is a personal seismograph with a vertical-component velocity transducer, and three-component (vertical, north-south, and east-west) accelerometer. A Raspberry Pi, which is a computer about the size of a credit card, powers the RS4D unit, which is about the size of a can of Spam. Advances in emerging technology are able to make scientific

National Park Service scientist using a camera paired with a GPS receiver to obtain images of Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, in June 2019. The resulting 3D model is scaled for size and is also usable in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for comparison with other datasets, such at aerial photography or marking sample locations for biological communities

You have to be able to have a little fun when in the field. A colleague from the Washington State Department of Ecology hams it up while prepping for a beach survey with scientists from the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center. The multi-agency surveys define sediment transport pathways and record coastal changes at the mouth of the Columbia River, where dams,

Photo of surf zone offshore of Fort Stevens State Park taken from the Columbia River South Jetty observation deck.

An HVO geologist collects GPS data on the western rim of Kīlauea's summit caldera. The geologist is standing upon a thick sequence of tephra deposits formed during explosive eruptions at Kīlauea's summit between about 1500 CE and the early 19th century. These layers of explosive deposits cap a much thicker sequence of lava flows (bottom and left portion of the photo),

Comet NEOWISE is seen with the Roosevelt Arch in the foreground at the north Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.  The town of Gardiner, Montana, is in the background.

USGS employee surveys streamgage datum for the Snake River near Alpine, Wyoming to ensure real-time stage and streamflow data on the web are accurate.

A small stream, Violet Creek, winds its way through Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park.

Panoramic photo of Hayden Valley looking east toward the Yellowstone River from the Mary Mountain trail.

Comparison of photos from Giant and Castle Geysers separated by almost 150 years. These images suggest almost no changes to the geyser structure implying that large geysers form over thousands of years. 

Photo credits: Top left: U.S. Geological Survey Denver Library Photographic Collection, Jackson, W.H. Collection. Top right: NPS public domain.  Lower left: U.S.

Rim Fire in Yosemite National Park.

Another view of the Fissure 8 channel, looking upstream. On the right, a lower ledge along the channel wall represents the level of lava in the channel during the later stages of the flow. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A map series showing a subset of the Puerto Rico bathymetric study area. Panels compare a “simple mosaic” formed by overlaying the most recent dataset on top of the older dataset (left panel) with the same dataset processed with the DEM fusion method (right panel).

Adult Arctic Tern feeding their chick a sand lance fish (Ammodytidae).

In this photo, USGS intern Brett Trottier (right) is learning how to prepare and deploy geophysical equipment from USGS hydrologist Eric White (left). The towed transient electromagnetic (tTEM) system is used to map the shallow subsurface to help us understand geologic and hydrogeologic conditions. In addition to the usual field safety procedures, Trottier and White are

HVO geologists visited the lower East Rift Zone lava flow field this past week to make measurements and observations, to better understand and reconstruct the dynamics of the Fissure 8 lava flow. This photo shows the channel wall in the braided channel region of the flow. The channel wall here is about 6 m (20 feet) high, and the channel just upstream of this position is

View of the recently cleared Boiling Pots on the Wailuku River in Hilo. The pots, each about 15 m (50 ft) in diameter, are eroded into a 10,000 year old Mauna Loa lava flow. When the water is low, the river does not flow over some of the pot rims but it continues to flow through them. USGS photo.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) electronics technician Steven Fuke stands near a solar panel system that powers a volcano-monitoring station. 

Two USGS scientists traveling by boat to estuary sampling and monitoring stations, Merrimack River, Massachusetts

A USGS scientist surveys GPS Ground Control Point locations on North Topsail Beach and within the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, North Carolina. These data are used to validate previously surveyed aerial imagery and aid in Structure from Motion (SFM) processing. Specifically, this scientist was collecting data to look at coastal change due to Hurricane Florence. These

Mineral elements provide the color in fireworks. Barium produces bright greens; strontium yields deep reds; copper produces blues; and sodium yields yellow. Other colors can be made by mixing elements: strontium and sodium produce brilliant orange; titanium, zirconium, and magnesium alloys make silvery white; copper and strontium make lavender. Gold sparks are produced by

Sugar Creek, near New Palestine, Indiana. Sugar Creek is part of a long-term USGS stream monitoring project, and was one of 72 U.S. streams and rivers investigated for pesticide occurrence. On average, 26 pesticides were detected in samples collected from Sugar Creek during 2013–17; 16 of the 122 samples collected at this site had a Pesticide Toxicity Index score that

White-nose syndrome has been detected in Washington. USGS scientist are helping the NPS design and evaluate bat sampling protocols for their Pacific Northwest parks.

In the eastern portion of the lake, the dark brown zone had a slightly mottled appearance, but this pattern was transient and gone within about ten minutes.

Geologists from Montana State University study an outcrop of diorite (a silicic igneous rock that cooled slowly beneath the ground). An outcrop of this size is important because it is easier to see any structural relations along with rock composition.

Newly identified ash flow sheets within the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain volcanic province (Y-SRP).  The small inset in the center shows the track of the Yellowstone hotspot and its associated eruptive centers in light gray (M—McDermitt; OH—Owyhee-Humboldt; BJ—Bruneau-Jarbidge; TF—Twin Falls; P—Picabo; H—Heise; Y—Yellowstone). On the left are geological logs through the

USGS-Cascades Volcano Observatory geophysicist Rebecca Kramer works on station PR05, which is part of the Mount Rainier lahar detection network (Mount Rainier is pictured in the distance). The purpose of the site visit was to upgrade the power system and deploy infrasound equipment. 

USGS scientist Tabitha Graves collects western bumble bee samples in eastern Montana. 

Mitch McAdoo prepares an acoustic televiewer for borehole geophysical logging in Monroe County, WV.

The eastern end of the lake, shown here, is slightly warmer than the lake center, and commonly has steam rising from the water surface. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The water lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues to slowly rise, with no significant changes in recent weeks. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

This Spatial Resolution Digital Imagery Guideline was developed by Innovative and Imaging Research (I2R) for the USGS. This guide demonstrates how certain image specification parameters affect

A conceptual model of ecosystem services for the wetland habitats of Nisqually River Delta. Exogenous factors influence the quality and quantity of wetland habitat. This, in turn, controls the many functions that occur within wetlands. Ecosystem services, or benefits to people, are derived from the ability of wetlands to perform critical ecological functions.

Example map showing UAS image (A) and resulting image classification (B). 

Scientists collect alpine plant species and distribution data to complete a GLORIA site inventory on the summit of Seward Mountain, Glacier National Park, Montana.

GLORIA sites within Glacier National Park

A botanist collects vegetation data near the summit Pitamakin Mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Researcher evaluates vegetation during a GLORIA alpine plant survey near the summit of Dancing Lady Mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana.