Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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.

Filter Total Items: 21345
Thick-billed Murres on the Pribilof Islands
Thick-billed Murres on the Pribilof Islands
Thick-billed Murres on the Pribilof Islands
Thick-billed Murres on the Pribilof Islands

Three thick-billed Murres perched on the Pribilof Islands, off the coast of the mainland, Alaska.

Streamflow measurement site on Fountain Creek near Manitou Springs, Colorado
Fountain Creek near Manitou Spring, Colorado
Fountain Creek near Manitou Spring, Colorado
Fountain Creek near Manitou Spring, Colorado

Image of a streamflow measurement site on Fountain Creek near Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Tree rings in a Rocky Mountain Juniper, Yellowstone National Park
Tree rings in a Rocky Mountain Juniper, Yellowstone National Park
Tree rings in a Rocky Mountain Juniper, Yellowstone National Park
Tree rings in a Rocky Mountain Juniper, Yellowstone National Park

A scanned image of Rocky Mountain juniper deadwood sample GGR100 collected in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park under permit YELL-5582.  The full length of this sample covers the time period 723-1792 CE.

A scanned image of Rocky Mountain juniper deadwood sample GGR100 collected in the northern part of Yellowstone National Park under permit YELL-5582.  The full length of this sample covers the time period 723-1792 CE.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Doppler radar in Ka‘ū: more than a weather radar
Doppler radar in Ka‘ū: more than a weather radar
Doppler radar in Ka‘ū: more than a weather radar

Radar image of the May 17, 2018 eruption of ash from Halema‘uma‘u Crater. This image is a slice through the cloud at an altitude of 14,000 ft (4 km) above sea level at 4:12 a.m., HST. The colors scale is radar reflectivity, a measure of the size of the particles and their concentration within the ash cloud.

Radar image of the May 17, 2018 eruption of ash from Halema‘uma‘u Crater. This image is a slice through the cloud at an altitude of 14,000 ft (4 km) above sea level at 4:12 a.m., HST. The colors scale is radar reflectivity, a measure of the size of the particles and their concentration within the ash cloud.

image related to volcanoes. See description
Doppler radar in Ka‘ū: more than a weather radar
Doppler radar in Ka‘ū: more than a weather radar
Doppler radar in Ka‘ū: more than a weather radar

Nā‘ālehu radome, 39 ft (about 12 m) in diameter. The radar dish inside is 28 ft (8.5 m) across. USGS photo by C. Neal on July 27, 2019.

Nā‘ālehu radome, 39 ft (about 12 m) in diameter. The radar dish inside is 28 ft (8.5 m) across. USGS photo by C. Neal on July 27, 2019.

Webcam image from Pascack Brook at Hillsdale
Hillsdale Webcam
Hillsdale Webcam
Hillsdale Webcam

Webcam image from Pascack Brook at Woodcliff Lake outlet at Hillsdale, NJ (01377451) 

Webcam image from Pascack Brook at Woodcliff Lake outlet at Hillsdale, NJ (01377451) 

Wildwood NJ Surf
Wildwood NJ Surf
Wildwood NJ Surf
Wildwood NJ Surf

Photo of the surf and clouds in Wildwood, NJ November 2019. 

Photo of the surf and clouds in Wildwood, NJ November 2019. 

Microscopic view of organs of mountain cottontail rabbit.
Photographs from organs of a mountain cottontail rabbit found dead
Photographs from organs of a mountain cottontail rabbit found dead
Photographs from organs of a mountain cottontail rabbit found dead

Photographs from an adult female mountain cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus nuttallii) found dead in Montana, U.S.A. (A) Liver with random foci of necrosis (asterisk) characterized by accumulation of cellular detritus intermingled with fibrin and colonies of small coccoid bacteria (inset). H&E stain.

Photographs from an adult female mountain cottontail rabbit (Sylvilagus nuttallii) found dead in Montana, U.S.A. (A) Liver with random foci of necrosis (asterisk) characterized by accumulation of cellular detritus intermingled with fibrin and colonies of small coccoid bacteria (inset). H&E stain.

Deformation that results from pressurization of a "Mogi" source model
Deformation that results from pressurization of a "Mogi" source model
Deformation that results from pressurization of a "Mogi" source model
Deformation that results from pressurization of a "Mogi" source model

Cross section through the Earth showing the ground surface with an embedded pressure source (red circle)—the so-called “Mogi model”—beneath the ground.  When this pressure source expands, the ground surface inflates like a balloon (the opposite occurs when the pressure in the source decreases).  Dashed black line shows, in an exaggerated way, how the shape

Cross section through the Earth showing the ground surface with an embedded pressure source (red circle)—the so-called “Mogi model”—beneath the ground.  When this pressure source expands, the ground surface inflates like a balloon (the opposite occurs when the pressure in the source decreases).  Dashed black line shows, in an exaggerated way, how the shape

Landsat 8 image showing Lakes Everard and Harry in S. Australia
Landsat 8 image showing Lakes Everard and Harry in S. Australia
Landsat 8 image showing Lakes Everard and Harry in S. Australia
Landsat 8 image showing Lakes Everard and Harry in S. Australia

Example of the Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Collection 2 level-1 product. This Landsat 8 image was acquired on August 18, 2020 over Lake Everard and Lake Harry in southern Australia and is shown as a false color composite using the shortwave infrared, near infrared, and red bands (bands 6,5,4).

Example of the Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS Collection 2 level-1 product. This Landsat 8 image was acquired on August 18, 2020 over Lake Everard and Lake Harry in southern Australia and is shown as a false color composite using the shortwave infrared, near infrared, and red bands (bands 6,5,4).

Photo looking north from the north shore of Yellowstone Lake at lake terraces.
Photo looking north from the north shore of Yellowstone Lake
Photo looking north from the north shore of Yellowstone Lake
Photo looking north from the north shore of Yellowstone Lake

Photo looking north from the north shore of Yellowstone Lake. The photo was taken from a level bench, or terrace, which marks a previous high stand of the lake.  In the middle distance (between the two red lines), the ground slopes up to second, higher-level terrace that indicates an even higher past lake level.

Photo looking north from the north shore of Yellowstone Lake. The photo was taken from a level bench, or terrace, which marks a previous high stand of the lake.  In the middle distance (between the two red lines), the ground slopes up to second, higher-level terrace that indicates an even higher past lake level.

A map shows relief of a long stretch of continental margin with features on land and in the ocean labeled with lines and words.
Cascadia megathrust fault map
Cascadia megathrust fault map
Cascadia megathrust fault map

Topo-bathymetric map of the Cascadia subduction zone. Cascadia megathrust fault (white line); approximate shelf break along 200-m isobath (yellow line); MTJ, Mendocino triple junction.

Topo-bathymetric map of the Cascadia subduction zone. Cascadia megathrust fault (white line); approximate shelf break along 200-m isobath (yellow line); MTJ, Mendocino triple junction.

A map illustration of the seafloor off of a coastal area, that shows the features like submarine canyons and depth.
Offshore northern California bathymetric map
Offshore northern California bathymetric map
A cross-section illustration that shows the features of a subduction zone where oceanic and continental plates collide.
Subduction zone schematic
Subduction zone schematic
image related to volcanoes. See description
Water was in Kīlauea caldera before the 2018 summit collapse
Water was in Kīlauea caldera before the 2018 summit collapse
Water was in Kīlauea caldera before the 2018 summit collapse

Black streak on caldera wall (center) is about 50 m (yards) long, and white steam plume (lower right) rises from northwestern part of Halema‘uma‘u. Photo from Volcano House Hotel on July 4, 2018. The configuration of this area changed considerably after the photo was taken, as collapse continued into early August. USGS photo.

Black streak on caldera wall (center) is about 50 m (yards) long, and white steam plume (lower right) rises from northwestern part of Halema‘uma‘u. Photo from Volcano House Hotel on July 4, 2018. The configuration of this area changed considerably after the photo was taken, as collapse continued into early August. USGS photo.

Lake, tree, water vessels, fence
Lake George in the Fall
Lake George in the Fall
Lake George in the Fall

Lake George, New York, in the fall with a dock and watercraft.

Lake George, New York, in the fall with a dock and watercraft.

Was this page helpful?