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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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Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the Castle Lake Overlook....
Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the Castle Lake Overlook.
Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the Castle Lake Overlook.
Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the Castle Lake Overlook.

Mount St. Helens, as viewed from the Castle Lake Overlook.

USGS Hydrologist flying a drone
USGS Drone for Remote Sensing
USGS Drone for Remote Sensing
USGS Drone for Remote Sensing

USGS Hydrologist Eric White flies a small drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera during a groundwater/surface-water exchange study.

USGS Hydrologist Eric White flies a small drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera during a groundwater/surface-water exchange study.

Scientist operates small drone over river valley with mountains in the background.
USGS uses drone with thermal infrared camera to study water resources
USGS uses drone with thermal infrared camera to study water resources
USGS uses drone with thermal infrared camera to study water resources

USGS Hydrologist Eric White flies a small unoccupied aircraft system – sUAS or "drone" – equipped with a thermal infrared camera during a groundwater/surface-water exchange study along the East River in Gunnison National Forest near Gothic, Colorado, in August 2017.

USGS Hydrologist Eric White flies a small unoccupied aircraft system – sUAS or "drone" – equipped with a thermal infrared camera during a groundwater/surface-water exchange study along the East River in Gunnison National Forest near Gothic, Colorado, in August 2017.

Close-up photograph of stem, leaves and flower buds of haha plant
Cyanea calycina, or haha, in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu
Cyanea calycina, or haha, in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu
Cyanea calycina, or haha, in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu

A Cyanea calycina, or haha, growing in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Haha is a rare and endangered plant endemic to Hawai‘i.

A Cyanea calycina, or haha, growing in the Wai‘anae Mountains on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Haha is a rare and endangered plant endemic to Hawai‘i.

USGS scientists flags a debris line on a telephone pole
USGS scientist flags a debris line on a telephone pole
USGS scientist flags a debris line on a telephone pole
USGS scientist flags a debris line on a telephone pole

USGS hydrologic technician Brandon Cooper flags a debris line on a telephone pole approximately 14.3 feet above the ground and located about 245 feet east of the bridge on Keith Road over Boggy Creek, September 15, 2017. 

USGS hydrologic technician Brandon Cooper flags a debris line on a telephone pole approximately 14.3 feet above the ground and located about 245 feet east of the bridge on Keith Road over Boggy Creek, September 15, 2017. 

Image of a done landing on a target at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Drone on target!
Drone on target!
Drone on target!

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, lands a drone on target at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, lands a drone on target at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Aerial image of Woods Hole, MA
Drone's Eye View of Woods Hole, MA
Drone's Eye View of Woods Hole, MA
Drone's Eye View of Woods Hole, MA

Aeiral image of Woods Hole, MA taken during the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll.  The green USGS tent generated a lot of interest and participation from Science Stroll attendees

Aeiral image of Woods Hole, MA taken during the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll.  The green USGS tent generated a lot of interest and participation from Science Stroll attendees

Image of a family taking a selfie with the SeaBOSS at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
Family fun with the SeaBOSS!
Family fun with the SeaBOSS!
Family fun with the SeaBOSS!

SeaBOSS Selfies were a big hit at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll.  

Satellite image showing a fire in Greenland
Fire in Greenland
Fire in Greenland
Fire in Greenland

It may seem surprising that wildfires burn in Greenland, a huge island of ice and glaciers. But fires do happen there. Earth-observing satellites detected a fire in a remote area of western Greenland in August 2017.

It may seem surprising that wildfires burn in Greenland, a huge island of ice and glaciers. But fires do happen there. Earth-observing satellites detected a fire in a remote area of western Greenland in August 2017.

Image of children surrounding USGS drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, at the Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Drone demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Drone demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Drone demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, provides a demonstration of drone capabilities at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center drone pilot, Emily Sturdivant, provides a demonstration of drone capabilities at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Image of USGS Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra sharing science at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Oceanographic Modeling demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Oceanographic Modeling demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll
USGS Oceanographic Modeling demonstration at Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra, talking to children about oceanographic modeling at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Scientific Programmer, Tarandeep Kalra, talking to children about oceanographic modeling at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll

Image of USGS scientist, Meagan Gonneea, at the Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares science
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares science
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares science

USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event

USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event

Image of Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants
USGS Science Stroll Dream Team
USGS Science Stroll Dream Team
USGS Science Stroll Dream Team

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants; Dann Blackwood, Andrea Toran, Emily Sturdivant, Ellyn Montgomery, Sara Zeigler, Neil Ganju, Seth Ackerman, Laura Brothers, Meagan Gonneea

Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Science Stroll participants; Dann Blackwood, Andrea Toran, Emily Sturdivant, Ellyn Montgomery, Sara Zeigler, Neil Ganju, Seth Ackerman, Laura Brothers, Meagan Gonneea

Streamflow measurement near the Charles River USGS 01104200 gage at Wellesley, MA
Streamflow measurement - Charles River Wellesley, MA
Streamflow measurement - Charles River Wellesley, MA
Streamflow measurement - Charles River Wellesley, MA

Streamflow measurement near the Charles River USGS 01104200 gage at Wellesley, MA

USGS scientist standing knee deep in Mohawk River getting SOD sample
SOD sampling Mohawk RIver
SOD sampling Mohawk RIver
SOD sampling Mohawk RIver

USGS scientist SOD sampling in the Mohawk RIver

USGS scientist SOD sampling in the Mohawk RIver

stream of fast moving water running over rocks and boulders
Unnamed stream in the Adirondack Mountains of New York
Unnamed stream in the Adirondack Mountains of New York
Unnamed stream in the Adirondack Mountains of New York

Unnamed stream in the Adirondack Mountains of New York

Hydrologist collecting a water sample from a domestic well
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well
Collecting a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well

A USGS hydrologist collects a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.  Learn more about domestic wells here.

A USGS hydrologist collects a sample of untreated groundwater from a domestic well in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.  Learn more about domestic wells here.

Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Bethel, Alaska
Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Bethel, Alaska
Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Bethel, Alaska
Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Bethel, Alaska

Photo of Herring and Glaucous gulls at the Bethel Landfill, Alaska.     

woman with waders and big spoon standing knee deep in river
Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) sampling in Mohawk River
Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) sampling in Mohawk River
Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) sampling in Mohawk River

Sediment Oxygen Demand (SOD) sampling in Mohawk River

American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western NA.
American pika in the Northern Cascades.
American pika in the Northern Cascades.
American pika in the Northern Cascades.

American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western North America.

American pika in the Northern Cascades. American pikas occupy talus slopes in mountain ecosystems throughout western North America.