Multimedia Gallery

Diatoms are algae that reflect the biotic condition of streams, lakes and estuaries. Diatoms are important indicator organisms because they are sensitive to natural and human impacts, and monitoring their condition provides information about ecosystem health. A large, living Pleurosira laevis cell has many disc shaped chloroplasts. Three cells of Cocconeis

Students climb out of ravine on north flank of Augustine Volcano during descent from sampling the 2006 lava flow during 2010 summer field campaign. From left: Laurel Morrow (junior geology major at CSUF), Matthew Bidwell (Science teacher at South Junior High School in Anaheim, CA), Ashley Melendez (senior geology major at CSUF) and Carolyn Rath (MS student at CSUF).

USGS river gage at Hickson, ND along the Red River of the North.

USGS river gage at Grand Forks, ND along the Red River of the North has recorded 100 years of data. View of auxiliary gage about 3 miles downstream from base gage.

USGS gage house located at Devils Lake near Devils Lake, ND has recorded 100 years of data.

Great Lakes water availability studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey aim to help characterize how much water the Basin has now, how water availability is changing, and how much water it can expect to have in the future.

Great Lakes water availability studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey aim to help characterize how much water the Basin has now, how water availability is changing, and how much water it can expect to have in the future.

Great Lakes water availability studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey aim to help characterize how much water the Basin has now, how water availability is changing, and how much water it can expect to have in the future.

Great Lakes water availability studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey aim to help characterize how much water the Basin has now, how water availability is changing, and how much water it can expect to have in the future.

Great Lakes water availability studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey aim to help characterize how much water the Basin has now, how water availability is changing, and how much water it can expect to have in the future.

Great Lakes water availability studies conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey aim to help characterize how much water the Basin has now, how water availability is changing, and how much water it can expect to have in the future.

Drought and climate change are causing extensive forest dieback in the U.S. West as well as worldwide. These photos show dead ponderosa pines in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico killed by a combination of drought stress and attacks by bark beetles on weakened trees.

Drought and climate change are causing extensive forest dieback in the U.S. West as well as worldwide. These photos show dead ponderosa pines in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico killed by a combination of drought stress and attacks by bark beetles on weakened trees.

Photograph of new mobile telemetry trailer for the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO). The purpose of the trailer is to provide a communication link in the event that CVO needs to respond to a Cascade volcanic crisis at a volcano that is currently under-monitored (includes all Cascade volcanoes except Mount St. Helens). The trailer will be a relay point to provide instant

An example of a disappearing marsh in the Mid-Atlantic USA.

Coastal Marsh along Cook Inlet across from Anchorage Alaska.

Rivers in middle Tennessee crested May 2-3,2010, breaking records at many USGS-operated streamgages. The flood peak on the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville ranks as the highest observed during the past 73 years. Flooding on the Cumberland River damaged the Grand Ole Opry House, LP Field (shown here), Bridgestone Arena, and other landmarks with several feet of water

The Ziegler Reservoir site above Snowmass Village, Colo. The white tent in the background is the site of the original mammoth find.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science personnel excavate a large mastodon tusk at the Ziegler Reservoir site.

Excavation of the initial Columbian mammoth remains found at the Ziegler Reservoir site.

USGS geologist Jeff Pigati (center) and personnel of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science examine an exposure of sediments at the Ziegler Reservoir site, Snowmass Village, Colo.

Panorama of Pu'u 'O 'o crater from the south rim of Pu'u 'O 'o cone. Active lava flows (light gray) cover much of the crater floor and are erupting from the degassing vent at the far left.

A close-up view of the lava stream as seen through a lava tube skylight near the top of the Pulama pali. The lava is moving from right to left, and skylight opening is about 1 m (3 ft) across.

The Puhi-o-Kalaikini ocean entry and delta. The light colored lava on the delta behind the plume is from recent surface flows.

View of the flow field above the Pulama pali. The Quarry flow rootless shields are to the left; the TEB shield is behind and just right of center; Pu'u 'O 'o is behind and to the left of the TEB shield (the light-colored tephra of Pu'u 'O 'o cone is just above and left of center; the plume from Halema'uma'u at Kilauea's summit is barely visible behind and to the right of

Close-up view of the erupting vent in Pu'u 'O 'o crater. Lava is not visible because it is going directly into tubes beneath the crusted surface to the right and feeding small lava flows near the flow front.

One of the many successive littoral explosions that occurred at the Puhi-o-Kalaikini ocean entry, where lava exiting the tube enters the water. The explosions were throwing ejecta up to about 20 meters. Lava deltas should not be walked on or approached, as they are inherently dangerous and can collapse without warning, often triggering steam explosions which can throw

The lava lake at Halema'uma'u has maintained the same basic geometry since February of this year. This thermal image was taken during a helicopter overflight, and shows the lava surface deep within the vent cavity. The lava surface is kidney-shaped and approximately 60 x 90 meters in size, and situated about 170 meters below the rim of the vent cavity. Lava upwells at the

A wide shot of the coastal plain showing the Puhi-o-Kalaikini ocean entry in the foreground, producing a medium size steam plume. Fuming areas on the hillside mark the trace of the current lava tube, which confines the lava until it ultimately reaches the ocean. The road that abruptly ends is Highway 130, which currently hosts the County viewing area.

Over the past several days, the lava surface within the vent in Halema'uma'u has occasionally, and temporarily, reached to within about 115 m (375 ft) below the floor of Halema'uma'u Crater, as seen in this photo. During these high-lava stands, the gas plume is generally fairly wispy, providing the rare naked-eye view of the lava surface. The far (north) side of the vent

Kilauea's active summit vent is on the southeast side of Halema'uma'u Crater. In this photo, the floor of Halema'uma'u stretches out beyond the vent, and the summit of Kilauea Volcano is at upper right. The observation tower at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is the highest bump in the photo at Kilauea's summit.

The largely crusted surface of the lava lake in the Halema'uma'u vent slowly moves from north (top of the photo) to south. During high lava stands, like that shown here, this circulation is so slow as to be nearly imperceptible to the naked eye.

The small western entry point at Puhi-o-Kalaikini stopped this week, leaving just main entry point at the central tip of the delta. The delta is now 985 m (3230 ft) long and reaches up to about 170 m (560 ft) out into the ocean from the old sea cliff. It has a surface area of 28 acres.

The Puhi-o-Kalaikini entry continues to put up a large plume just west of Kalapana Gardens. No active lava flows have been reported on coastal flats in nearly 2 weeks.

Pu'u 'O'o was not as fumy today as usual, allowing decent views of the crater floor. The Pu'u 'O'o webcam, GPS station, and other equipment are the white dots on the crater rim.

Songbird finding food for its young.

Dart Poison Frogs are commonly found in Central and South America and are from the Dendrobatidae family.

This low-level helicopter survey is designed to remotely study geologic units that lie below land surface. It is part of an ongoing USGS program to identify features such as changes in rock types, ultimately providing a better understanding of the geology and hydrology of the area. 

Operated by experienced pilots who are specially trained for low-level flying, the

Wendy McCausland of the USGS Volcano Disaster Assistance Program and Hani Zahran of the Saudi Geological Survey view the southern end of the surface fault rupture caused by a M5.4 earthquake in the Saudi Arabian desert on May 19, 2009. The ground displacements in the soft sediments of the foreground are greater than in basement rocks of the background because sediments

Harrat Lunayyir basalt cinder cones and lava flows in Saudi Arabia seen from an aerial perspective. Deposits from the cinder cones cover nearby ridges and form fans at the base of the older non-volcanic ridge in the background. These well-preserved geomorphic forms indicate the relative youth of this northern part of the volcanic field.

This map of the Thousand Oaks, Calif. area visualizes the degree of genetic isolation being experienced by the wrentit (Chamaea fasciata), a small songbird. USGS and National Park Service biologists discovered that as urban development fragmented the Santa Monica Mountains scrubland into isolated "habitat islands", wildlife populations have also become genetically isolated

The Western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is a relatively common and widespread lizard in Southern California. It is larger and prefers less open habitat than the related side-blotched lizard, yet USGS and National Park Service biologists are finding signs of genetic isolation in both species. As urban development fragmented the Santa Monica Mountains scrubland

Approximate point of maximum subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Land surface subsided ~9 m from 1925 to 1977 due to aquifer-system compaction. Signs on the telephone pole indicate the former elevations of the land surface in 1925 and 1955.

Backscattered electron image of radiating fibers of kaolinite growing in volcanic rock altered by fluids connected to hot springs near Lassen Volcanic National Park. Associated with the kaolinite are rounded masses of silica and iron oxides (bright areas) that formed from pyrite. The composition and textures help us evaluate the origin of ore deposits and the inner

Red knots, an at-risk shorebird, at Delaware Bay. Red knots like to feed on horseshoe crab eggs to refuel after their marathon migrations of some 10,000 miles. Declines of horseshoe crabs and red knots seem to be related.

Gulf of Mexico Near Destin

I took this picture while setting up a study of this invasive spp.  Of snail.