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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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Hampton Roads Benchmark Monitoring: Occupying a Benchmark
Hampton Roads Benchmark Monitoring: Occupying a Benchmark
Hampton Roads Benchmark Monitoring: Occupying a Benchmark
Hampton Roads Benchmark Monitoring: Occupying a Benchmark

Hampton Roads Benchmark Monitoring: Occupying a Benchmark

Hawaiian green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas
Hawaiian green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas
Hawaiian green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas
Hawaiian green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

Hawaiian green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas

A view of healthy elkhorn corals on the seafloor in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Healthy elkhorn coral on the seafloor in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Healthy elkhorn coral on the seafloor in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Healthy elkhorn coral on the seafloor in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Healthy elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) on the seafloor along the southeastern coast of Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands. Elkhorn coral is one of many important reef-building species that create 3D structure on the seafloor. Coral reef structure provides habitat for marine life and helps break up waves as they approach the coastline.

Healthy elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) on the seafloor along the southeastern coast of Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands. Elkhorn coral is one of many important reef-building species that create 3D structure on the seafloor. Coral reef structure provides habitat for marine life and helps break up waves as they approach the coastline.

Cedar Rapids
Helicopter Lifting Off to Start a Data Collection Run for EM Data
Helicopter Lifting Off to Start a Data Collection Run for EM Data
Helicopter Lifting Off to Start a Data Collection Run for EM Data

Helicopter lifting off to start a data collection run.

Hibernating little brown bat
Hibernating little brown bat
Hibernating little brown bat
Hibernating little brown bat

little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome hibernating in a Virginia cave during late spring of 2016.

little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) with white-nose syndrome hibernating in a Virginia cave during late spring of 2016.

A USGS hydrologic technician examines a wall in Puerto Rico for a high-water mark after flooding from Hurricane Maria.
Hurricane Maria high-water mark
Hurricane Maria high-water mark
Hurricane Maria high-water mark

CAPTION: José Santiago-Saez, USGS hydrologic technician, flags a high-water mark in Comerio, Puerto Rico, from flooding on the Río de la Plata caused by Hurricane Maria. USGS Photo.

CAPTION: José Santiago-Saez, USGS hydrologic technician, flags a high-water mark in Comerio, Puerto Rico, from flooding on the Río de la Plata caused by Hurricane Maria. USGS Photo.

Hydrogeophysics Branch -- Storrs, Connecticut
Hydrogeophysics Branch -- Storrs, Connecticut
Hydrogeophysics Branch -- Storrs, Connecticut
Hydrotherm example
Hydrotherm program output example
Hydrotherm program output example
Hydrotherm program output example

Example Hydrotherm output. Hydrotherm is a three-dimensional simulation of multiphase groundwater flow and heat transport in the temperature range of 0 to 1200 degrees Celsius and the pressure range of 1 to 1000 MPa.

Example Hydrotherm output. Hydrotherm is a three-dimensional simulation of multiphase groundwater flow and heat transport in the temperature range of 0 to 1200 degrees Celsius and the pressure range of 1 to 1000 MPa.

Ice-like gas hydrates under capping rock encrusted with mussels on the sea floor
Ice-like gas hydrates under capping rock encrusted with mussels
Ice-like gas hydrates under capping rock encrusted with mussels
Ice-like gas hydrates under capping rock encrusted with mussels

Ice-like gas hydrates under capping rock encrusted with mussels on the sea floor of the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Image from a remote camera placed in a golden eagle nest in the Mojave Desert.  The parent is feed the chick a snake.
Image from a remote camera placed in a golden eagle nest in the Mojave
Image from a remote camera placed in a golden eagle nest in the Mojave
Image from a remote camera placed in a golden eagle nest in the Mojave

Image from a remote camera placed in a golden eagle nest in the Mojave Desert.  The parent is feed the chick a snake.  

Images of Madeira Beach, Florida, from video taken June 20, 2017
Images of Madeira Beach, Florida, from video taken June 20, 2017
Images of Madeira Beach, Florida, from video taken June 20, 2017
Images of Madeira Beach, Florida, from video taken June 20, 2017

Views of Madeira Beach, Florida, produced from a 17-minute video shot on June 20, 2017. Left: Snapshot, or first frame of video. Right: Time-averaged image, sometimes called a “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during the 17-minute video.

Views of Madeira Beach, Florida, produced from a 17-minute video shot on June 20, 2017. Left: Snapshot, or first frame of video. Right: Time-averaged image, sometimes called a “timex,” created by averaging the intensity of light recorded at each spot, or “pixel,” during the 17-minute video.

Map of the general expedition area
IMMeRSS Cruise expedition area
IMMeRSS Cruise expedition area
IMMeRSS Cruise expedition area

Map of the general expedition area on the northern U.S. Atlantic Margin between Baltimore Canyon and Cape Hatteras

Map of the general expedition area on the northern U.S. Atlantic Margin between Baltimore Canyon and Cape Hatteras

Large boulders have been placed along the beach edge to stop waves from eroding the sand. Palm trees stand behind the beach.
Installing large boulders to armor the shore against further erosion
Installing large boulders to armor the shore against further erosion
Installing large boulders to armor the shore against further erosion

Installing large boulders as riprap to armor the shore against further erosion at Goleta Beach in Southern California. The tide is very low (negative).

Installing large boulders as riprap to armor the shore against further erosion at Goleta Beach in Southern California. The tide is very low (negative).

Picture of native and non-native plant cover in the Mojave
Invasive Annual Grass Fills the Space Between Shrubs, Mojave
Invasive Annual Grass Fills the Space Between Shrubs, Mojave
Invasive Annual Grass Fills the Space Between Shrubs, Mojave

An unburned low elevation community in the central Mojave where the interspaces between shrubs have been filled in with a continuous layer of Mediterranean split grass Schismus barbatus. If a fire started here it would spread much more rapidly and be far more extensive than in a low elevation community where the interspaces are rocky or bare.

An unburned low elevation community in the central Mojave where the interspaces between shrubs have been filled in with a continuous layer of Mediterranean split grass Schismus barbatus. If a fire started here it would spread much more rapidly and be far more extensive than in a low elevation community where the interspaces are rocky or bare.

Lake Powell
Lake Powell
Lake Powell
Lake Powell

The USGS Utah Water Science Center and the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a collaborative geophysical research effort within Lake Powell, UT-AZ to map the bathymetry of the lake and characterize shallow sediment deposition near the mouths of the San Juan and Colorado Rivers.

The USGS Utah Water Science Center and the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a collaborative geophysical research effort within Lake Powell, UT-AZ to map the bathymetry of the lake and characterize shallow sediment deposition near the mouths of the San Juan and Colorado Rivers.

USGS R/V Stephens operating within Lake Powell, UT-AZ
Lake Powell Geophysical Survey
Lake Powell Geophysical Survey
Lake Powell Geophysical Survey

USGS R/V Stephens operating within Lake Powell, UT-AZ.  A multibeam echosounder is deployed off the starboard side of the vessel and is used to collect depth information within the reservoir.

USGS R/V Stephens operating within Lake Powell, UT-AZ.  A multibeam echosounder is deployed off the starboard side of the vessel and is used to collect depth information within the reservoir.

Leetown Science Center and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center building
Leetown Science Center and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center building
Leetown Science Center and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center building
Leetown Science Center and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center building

Leetown Science Center and Patuxent Wildlife Research Center building

Lidar point cloud of Rio Grande River
Lidar point cloud of Rio Grande River
Lidar point cloud of Rio Grande River
Lidar point cloud of Rio Grande River

Lidar point cloud of Rio Grande River- El Paso, TX

Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO
Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO
Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO
Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO

Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO

Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty
Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty
Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty
Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty

Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty